The Bus Stop
by merlinishness1
Summary: Arthur tries to help out a stranger at the bus stop. Author's Notes: Thanks to inspired being on LiveJournal for the beta and the encouragement.
1. The Bus Stop

Arthur left work late again. It was the third time this week. As he eased his sports car out of the car park, he glanced to his left. He was there again, at the bus stop. The lanky bloke with the shock of black hair falling into his eyes. Hands in pockets and collar up to withstand the brisk wind. His face and those large ears were red from the cold. He should wear a scarf to protect from the winter chill.

Arthur had seen him often enough, waiting for the bus, that he'd come to feel a bit proprietary about him. He was _his_ bus stop bloke. On an impulse, Arthur abruptly changed lanes and braked heavily to stop right at the bus stop. His actions generated a huge splash of muddy water that flew up and soaked the man's trousers.

"Oi! Look what you did! My best trousers are ruined!"

Arthur lowered the window on the passenger side. "Look, I'm sorry about that. I just wanted to help you out."

"And just how is soiling my trousers helping me out?" The young man was agitated-this wasn't going well.

"I meant to offer you a ride home or to wherever you're going."

"Why would you do that? I don't know you."

"Can't a bloke offer a stranger in distress some assistance? Admit it, you were freezing your arse off."

A horn blared from behind Arthur's car, urging him to move.

"Com'on, get in."

The man hesitated a moment more, then opened the door and slid into the seat beside Arthur.

"_Do_ I know you?

"Name's Arthur, Arthur Pendragon."

"No, I don't. I'm Merlin. I'm not sure I should be doing this. You might be a serial rapist or someone equally stalkerish." Merlin regarded Arthur with narrowed eyes.

"Thanks for the vote of confidence, mate," Arthur responded sarcastically.

"I got in, didn't I? And I'm not your mate," the man replied churlishly.

"My mistake then." This was so not going well.

"Yeah. I'd never have a mate who could be such an ass, splattering me with mud."

"I said I was sorry and I'll pay your cleaning bill. Where to then?" Arthur said with a sigh. Merlin provided directions, as Arthur tried to come up with a way to turn around the conversation.

After a period of uncomfortable silence, Merlin asked, "So why did you offer me a ride?"

Arthur squirmed in his seat a bit. "Like I said, you looked like you were freezing. I've seen you at that stop often, in the evenings."

"Oh God, you have been stalking me! You probably know where I work and now I've given you my home address. I'm sunk." Merlin distractedly ran his hand through his hair, rending it even more unkempt. And adorable, observed Arthur.

"No, no. It's just ... when I work late, I see you there, waiting, by yourself. I don't know where you work or ... anything." Arthur's voice trailed off. Merlin was regarding him with a look of curiosity. Well, at least that was better than fear.

Merlin shook his head. "I still don't get it. Why me?"

Arthur figured he'd already ruined his chances, so why not admit the truth? "Why you? Because I wanted to get to know you, that's why. I don't usually pick up strangers and offer them rides home, despite what you may think of me."

"Oh," Merlin breathed.

More uncomfortable silence followed. Arthur took some furtive glances at Merlin, but he couldn't read anything in the young man's face. He was staring out the window and nervously fingering the strap of his backpack.

Too soon for Arthur, they arrived at Merlin's destination. "Here we are."

"Yes." Merlin made no move to get out of the car.

"I will pay your cleaning bill or pay to replace your trousers if they can't be cleaned. Here's my card. Just let me know how much." Arthur handed Merlin a business card.

"Uh, thanks." Merlin opened the door and exited the car. Before he shut the door, Arthur offered, "If you ever need a ride, give me a call - my mobile's on the card, too."

"Yeah. Thanks." And then Merlin was gone.

Arthur's mood soured completely as he headed for home. How could he have been so stupid to mess that up? He'd likely never hear from Merlin again. As he pulled into the garage, his mobile emitted a loud 'ding,' signalling a new text.

Ride tmw 8pm bus stp?

Arthur grinned and texted back:

Sure, cu then.

He had a chance, and he was going to make the most of it.


	2. The Miracle

Arthur checked his watch-in twelve hours he'd be picking up Merlin (who has a name like that anyway?) at the bus stop. His nerves were on edge already. How was he going to make it through his workday? He tried to calm himself down with the thought that just because the bloke looked fascinating didn't mean he would be. That black hair falling in his eyes and the pouting lips might just be a gorgeous front on a dull personality.

Arthur hadn't been in a serious relationship since he'd finally admitted to himself that he was gay. It had taken a disastrous breakup with Vivian for him to realize the truth of his sexuality. He didn't like the club scene and he wanted something more than a one-night stand.

He hoped his gaydar was working and his bus stop bloke was indeed gay, or he'd end up very embarrassed.

The jangle of the phone ringing brought him back to the present.

"Hello, Arthur Pendragon here."

"Arthur, it's Mithian from Personnel. I have some bad news for you. You've driven out another P.A. Sophia has quit; effective immediately."

"I don't drive them out. They just fail to meet my basic expectations. Sophia never could keep my calendar organized. I don't know how many times she had me double booked," Arthur explained petulantly.

"She quit after your tirade yesterday."

"So what am I supposed to do today? I have a critical presentation with a client this afternoon."

"I'll see who I can come up with to fill-in. I'll send someone up as soon as I can. And, Arthur, go easy on the next one, OK?"

"I'll try," Arthur conceded.

Great. Well, he'd better get started preparing for the meeting.

Merlin cautiously stepped out of the elevator on the top floor. He hadn't been up to the executive suites before; the courier service delivered their mail. Merlin had been working the afternoon shift in the mailroom at Camelot Consulting for about a month, filling in for Elena who was on maternity leave. It was the best job the temp agency had for him at present. While the work failed to make use of his Literature degree, he enjoyed chatting with all the people on his rounds delivering the mail.

Today would be different, however. He'd been told to report to the executive suite to fill-in for a P.A. who had quit. He stopped at the reception desk where a pretty brunette with honey-colored skin was deftly handling calls on a complicated phone system. She held up a finger to indicate he should wait, while she completed routing the call.

"Hello, how can I help you?" she asked once she'd finished.

"Hi, I was told to report here to fill-in for a P.A. I'm Merlin."

"Thank goodness. It's been crazy around here this morning with Arthur panicking. Oh, I'm Gwen, by the way. I'll take you to meet him. I can't wait to see his face when he realizes he has a male P.A. He's never had anything but women. And he's gone through a lot of them... Oh, I probably shouldn't have said that."

Merlin smiled. "No, I appreciate your honesty. I like knowing what I'm getting into."

Not another bloody paper jam! Arthur yanked open the door on the copier and got down on his knees. He pulled a few mangled sheets of paper out from the rollers and his fingers were covered in toner dust. Standing up again, he tried to assess what pages were missing and absent-mindedly wiped his face, leaving black marks on his cheeks and chin.

"Arthur," Gwen peered into the copier room and said, "Your savior is here." She pulled Merlin into the room, "This is Merlin, your fill-in P.A."

Arthur looked up and blinked. "You? From the bus stop? You work here?" He could hardly believe his eyes.

"Yeah. Surprise for both of us, I guess." Merlin noticed the scrunched up paper is Arthur's hand. "Looks like you could use some help?"

"Definitely. I think the office machines are conspiring against me. Don't ask what happened to the proposal I tried to fax."

"So how many copies? Collated? Bound?" Merlin grinned. Arthur looked slightly confused. "Summer job at a copy place," Merlin explained.

"A dozen will do," Arthur managed to say, and then added, "You're a miracle." Somehow the fates were being unnaturally kind to him all of a sudden, Arthur thought. Merlin was just as stunning today as last night. The hair was still a mess, falling into his eyes, or was that a hip style now? His eyes were a brilliant shade of blue, pulling Arthur's attention away from the pale ivory skin.

"You might want to hold your judgement on that. I've no idea how to be a personal assistant, so I'm sure to screw something up."

"Just get me through today. Gwen will help you as much as she can, I'm sure. After you finish the copies, can you start with straightening out my calendar?"

"I'll try… Uh, you might want to clean your face, too." Merlin pointed to his own sharp cheekbones in reference to the black streaks on Arthur's.

Within half an hour, Merlin entered Arthur's office, carrying a stack of presentation booklets with a cup of coffee balancing on top. "Here you go, and Gwen said you take your coffee with cream."

Merlin slid the copies onto Arthur's desk, but his shirt sleeve caught on the edge of it, which jerked the cup of coffee forward, spilling its hot contents across Arthur's keyboard and onto Arthur himself.

Arthur exploded. "You idiot! Look what you've done to my keyboard! And my clothes are ruined! Do you have a brain or are you just hopelessly clumsy? Not even the worst of my previous P.A.'s ever did this!"

"It was just an accident. Like yours, yesterday, splashing me. Now I see why there is a revolving door for P.A.'s in this office. Gwen said you are difficult to work for, but she didn't tell me you are a royal prat!" Merlin was yelling right back at Arthur.

Arthur was stunned into silence. Whenever he went on a tirade, his previous assistants usually started crying or began begging for another chance. They didn't talk back, much less yell. This was going to be something altogether different.


	3. Another Miracle

The two men stared at each other across the desk. Arthur, dripping with coffee, and Merlin wearing a mulish expression.

"You can't talk to me like that," Arthur protested.

"Like what? Call you a royal prat, d'you mean? Well, it's true-you're being awfully rude," Merlin countered.

"Honestly, you are the worst P.A. ever." Arthur fumed. How dare Merlin insult him? Didn't he know who he was?

It did cross Merlin's mind that Arthur could get him fired in a heartbeat, but he still didn't back down. "I'm doing my best here. You can't insult people and call them idiots just because they make mistakes. Honestly, it _was_ an accident and I'm sorry," Merlin offered.

Arthur sighed as his anger drained away. The man had a point. Arthur knew he was quick to temper. "How did you manage to spill the coffee? Are you naturally just a clumsy oaf?" Arthur asked with curiosity and a small laugh.

"Sort of, I guess. I did warn you I would screw up; something always goes wrong. At least now we're even for last night's mud on my trousers."

Seeing Arthur's anger abate, Merlin swallowed his own annoyance and continued, "Look, you said you had an important meeting this afternoon. Why don't you take off your shirt and tie? I'll take them to the cleaners downstairs and ask for a rush job."

It was a sensible idea, Arthur had to admit. "Just the shirt. I have a spare tie in my desk." He proceeded to remove the tie and began unbuttoning his shirt.

As Merlin watched, waiting for the shirt, Arthur felt self-conscious. He wasn't embarrassed about his body-he was fit and knew he was considered good-looking-but the office setting was all wrong. And in front of someone he was interested in but had barely met, it was awkward. He began to blush.

Merlin tried not to stare, but Arthur was so handsome; no, make that gorgeous. Broad shoulders with well-defined muscles. An expanse of golden skin with fine light brown hair scattered across his chest. Interesting, his face and neck were becoming redder-was he blushing? Merlin mentally chided himself for gawking; this was his boss, after all.

Merlin took the shirt from Arthur. "Back as quickly as I can. I'll shut the door and tell Gwen not to let anyone in."

Arthur was mopping the coffee out of his keyboard as he responded, "Good. You do that."

There was a sharp rap on the door, followed by "Arthur, I have to talk to you." It was Leon from Finance.

Arthur first thought of hiding under the desk in his still half-naked state. But that would be nearly as mortifying as being seen shirtless in his office. So he went with a bluff: "Not now, Leon, I'm busy."

"It's urgent, sir. About the Cranfield account and your meeting this afternoon."

Damn. He'd have to talk to Leon, and now. Too late to pretend he wasn't in the office, so he tried his only other option. "Can you call me on the phone instead?"

"Sir? It really would be better face-to-face-I have the numbers marked up that need correcting."

Arthur moved to the door. "Alright, but you have to promise not to laugh and never to tell anyone."

Leon solemnly stated, "You know I'd never betray your trust. I promise." With that assurance, Arthur cracked open the door and let Leon into the office. Leon's eyebrow rose as he took note of Arthur's state of undress.

"Before you get any odd ideas, my shirt is being laundered after that fool of a P.A. spilled coffee all over me."

"I see." Leon replied with a mostly straight face (only the corners of his mouth twitched a bit). "About the Cranfield cost analysis; let me review the changes."

It was after noon when Arthur's office door was flung open and he nearly jumped out of his chair. But it was only Merlin arriving with the cleaned shirt.

"Didn't you ever learn to knock when entering someone's office?" Arthur asked peevishly.

"Uh, yes...no...I guess I haven't had much occasion to enter people's offices. Sorry. Anyway, here's your shirt."

Arthur grabbed the shirt and put it on. He added his spare tie as he spoke, "I have a new crisis that's your fault: my computer is broken and I have to update the presentation before the meeting. See, it won't start up. It just says '301'," Arthur complained as he pointed at the display.

Merlin moved to Arthur's side of the desk, muttering, "And this is my fault, how?" Then louder, to Arthur, "You re-booted it?"

Arthur rolled his eyes. He'd heard the grumbled complaint. "Your fault that there was coffee in the keyboard, remember? And even I know enough that starting it up again is the first thing to try."

Merlin grinned-this would be easy to fix, saving Arthur from a disastrous meeting. "Okay, let's try replacing the keyboard. I'll take the one off my desk and we'll see if that fixes it."

Arthur's difficulty with the office machines also meant he was lacking in computer skills beyond making charts, spreadsheets and reading and writing emails. So when Merlin was successful in getting the computer to boot up to the familiar screen with icons on it, Arthur thought it was another miracle. "How did you know that would work?" Arthur asked in amazement.

"I have _some_ skills, you know. I learned a bit working after school at my uncle's computer repair shop."

"Well, it looks like magic to me," Arthur replied. Arthur turned his attention to the work to be done before the meeting. "I'll print out the pages and you swap them out for those in the booklets. We need to work fast, as we haven't much time."


	4. Behind the Prat

Arthur would be finished with the presentation soon. Merlin was waiting in Arthur's office and nervous on his behalf. He distractedly checked Arthur's calendar for Monday. He was double booked twice; he'd have to ask Arthur which meetings to keep and which ones to reschedule.

Merlin allowed himself to daydream a bit. He put his feet up on Arthur's desk and leaned back in his chair. Arthur had said he wanted to get to know Merlin when he picked him up at the bus stop. Well, working for him was one way, but he wasn't sure if he'd ruined that with the coffee spill. And then he'd called Arthur rude and a prat. If he was lucky, they'd let him return to the mail room instead of firing him outright. Damn, Arthur was so stunning to look at with his strong jaw and full lips. Not to mention what Merlin had seen of his muscled torso. But what was underneath the irascible, bad-mannered surface? Was he more than good looks and an arrogant attitude?

"Merlin, what the hell are you doing? Or not doing rather. Get your feet off my desk." Arthur was back and definitely not in a good mood.

Merlin complied immediately and jumped up out of Arthur's chair, almost colliding with Arthur as he tried to dance around the desk. "Sorry. I was working on your calendar here since my computer has no keyboard. I just took a little break." Best to change the subject now. "How did the meeting go?"

"Cranfield wants more time to decide. He wasn't entirely convinced that keeping the local people employed instead of moving the work overseas makes good business sense, despite the marketing opportunities that it would bring, the productivity boost from the flexible work schedules and the work-at-home program. The financial numbers are there, but Cranfield's the type of man who relies on his gut to make decisions. I guess I didn't do enough to convince him." Arthur sighed and slumped in his chair.

Merlin saw the defeat in Arthur's body language and heard it in his voice. Ever the optimist, Merlin suggested, "But you said he asked for more time to decide, so he still may agree with your proposal, right?"

Arthur shrugged his shoulders in response. "I guess it's possible."

"Well, I read through the presentation, Arthur, and you really made your points well. You are supporting the existing employees, making sure they are treated fairly-like people, not property of the company. And you demonstrated how it would be good for Cranfield & Company too."

"Just great. As soon as you replace Cranfield as CEO, the deal will be wrapped up." Arthur managed a meager smile at the thought. "So what were you able to do with my calendar while I was gone?"

"Let me show you." Merlin pulled the mouse and keyboard to his side of the desk.

Merlin and Arthur worked for another hour before Arthur caught himself staring at Merlin while he made the updates on the computer. The lanky man had been running his hand through his hair as he tried to make sense of Sophia's cryptic notes. The raven locks were impossibly tousled now, revealing more of his electric blue eyes. Arthur wanted to run his finger along the sharp cheekbones and down to outline the pouty mouth. Then he'd like to kiss his way up Merlin's throat, sucking along his jaw until he reached the earlobe that he would nibble. At this point, he'd forgotten how angry he had been at Merlin earlier for first his clumsiness and then his brash criticism.

"Arthur, are you listening to me? I asked if you have any idea who or what is M-D-R-D. You have a meeting next week and that is all it says. Some kind of doctor's appointment? Or a meeting with the R&D department?"

Arthur burst out laughing. "No, neither of those. That's a who; Mordred, from Internal Auditing. He'll be auditing my expense account at the specific request of my father. I'm very conscientious about what I claim, so I don't know why my father has requested this, unless it's just to annoy me."

"Your father annoys you?" Merlin raised an eyebrow as he studied Arthur's face.

"Our relationship is, well, complicated. He's a stern and demanding man." Arthur wasn't meeting Merlin's eyes any more and his face was devoid of emotion. Clearly, it wasn't a subject he wanted to discuss further. But Merlin plowed on with more questions.

"So is that why you work late all the time? To impress your father?" Merlin enquired with a quizzical look.

Arthur sighed and closed his eyes briefly. "I've always worked extra hard at this job and every job I've had at Camelot Consulting. High expectations come with being the owner's son. From my father, from other employees too, but most importantly, from myself. I have to prove to myself I can do the work without getting any special treatment because of who my father is," Arthur replied earnestly.

Given what he'd just learnt about Arthur, Merlin realized that there was, undeniably, a good and fair man hidden behind the quick-tempered rude exterior. Perhaps Arthur wouldn't fire him after all.


	5. Indian takeaway

"Speaking of working late, you aren't required to stay as late as I do," Arthur mentioned. "It's after six, you know."

"Aren't you forgetting something? You said you'd give me a ride home today. Is the offer still open?"

"I didn't forget…I just wasn't sure if you still wanted to accept the offer after our argument earlier."

"Sure, no hard feelings." Merlin's grin spread across his face as he nodded his assent.

Arthur's eyes crinkled as he returned the smiled. "How about we get some takeaway from the Indian place around the corner, eat it here and then I'll take you home?" he suggested.

Merlin's stomach rumbled at the thought of food. "Sure, I'll go pick it up. D'you know what you want?"

"Chicken curry and some naan. Here, buy both dinners with this." Arthur pulled some notes from his wallet and gave them to Merlin.

Merlin returned with a large bag emitting enticing smells. Arthur cleared off his desk while Merlin pulled out the cartons of chicken curry, vegetable samosas, chana masala and two foil-wrapped packets of naan. "Here's your change. I wasn't sure what you wanted to drink so I just got bottled water," Merlin said.

"That's fine." Arthur opened his desk and brought out a selection of plastic cutlery and a few paper towels to use as napkins.

The mealtime passed companionably. Merlin told Arthur about growing up in the rural town of Ealdor and his excitement when he had moved to London for uni. He told him about his mother's fascination with the Arthurian legends had led to her naming her only child 'Merlin.' She'd passed on her interest to her son so he had studied Medieval Literature at uni.

With a wry smile, Merlin said, "There's not much call in the job market for people with Medieval Literature degrees, so I've been getting a series of temporary jobs."

"So what work were you doing here before you became my 'saviour,' as Gwen put it?"

"Delivering mail. It's actually a pretty fun job. I enjoy talking with all the admin assistants on my route. Just, it doesn't pay well and it is only until Elena's maternity leave is over in six weeks."

"So… are you talking with the A.A.s or are you flirting with them?" Arthur enquired with a chuckle.

Merlin blushed and shyly answered, "Just talking." Arthur took note of the tips of Merlin's large ears turning red.

Arthur cleared his throat nervously. "So, are you in a relationship? Girlfriend? Boyfriend?"

Merlin's brow furrowed. "Are you coming onto me?" he asked slowly.

"You didn't answer the question," Arthur stated flatly.

"No, I'm not in a relationship presently and, yes, I am gay if that is what you're really asking. Now, answer _my_question: are you hitting on me?"

"Well, I suppose so, yes." Arthur cleared his throat again. "How about we clean up here and I'll give you that ride home?"

"Wait Arthur, let me ask another question: are you expecting me to work as your P.A. again on Monday?" Merlin had a concerned expression.

"Of course, I don't have anyone else."

"Oh God, this was a date, wasn't it? I didn't realize..." Merlin's expression grew more horrified as he spoke.

Arthur was now concerned. "Sort of, I guess. Is there a problem?"

"Yes. I'd better take the bus home. I'm sorry, Arthur. I have a rule about not dating people I work with, much less work for."

Arthur felt something special slipping away. "You don't need to do that, Merlin. If it makes you feel better, it wasn't a date. Just two co-workers sharing a meal at the office."

Merlin dug into his pocket and flung some notes at Arthur, saying, "No. I pay my own way. For the dinner."

"This is ridiculous. There is no company rule prohibiting employees from dating. Hell, there are married couples who work here."

"No, you don't understand. This is _my_ rule."

Arthur was desperate now. "How about I fire you? We could date then, yes?"

Merlin shook his head, and swept his disheveled hair away from his eyes. "No, that isn't a good idea. You just said you have no one else yet to be your P.A., and to be honest, I could use the extra money. I need to go now to catch the next bus." And he was gone.


	6. A New Day

Arthur spent most of the weekend _not_ thinking about Merlin. Definitely not wondering if he would even turn up for work on Monday morning. Merlin had said he needed the money, so surely he would return. Then Arthur would talk him out of his absurd rule of not dating co-workers.

He hadn't imagined what he could do to those ridiculously large ears and that expanse of pale neck. He didn't admire Merlin's seemingly infallible capability of saving Arthur from his office disasters. And he had to admit, it was pretty brave of Merlin to stand up to the owner's son and challenge him like that. No, he hadn't thought about Merlin at all.

He felt a rush of relief when he arrived at his office and found an efficient, professional-looking Merlin (except for the hair) seated outside his office. He was greeted with a formal 'Good Morning, Arthur' and a printed copy of his day's agenda.

However, Merlin wasn't making eye contact when he asked, "Would you like a cup of coffee this morning?"

"Only if you put a lid on it so you can't spill it. And even then, be extra careful not to trip, you klutzy fool." Now why did he do that-criticize Merlin and call him names? Because he was nervous, he supposed. He really didn't want to antagonize Merlin.

Merlin glared at Arthur and said, "I'm sure I can manage to deliver it without an incident today."

The rest of the morning passed by uneventfully; Merlin answered Arthur's phone calls efficiently and sorted through the stack of unopened mail that was part of Sophia's legacy. Arthur had to meet with his father to review the meeting with Cranfield and its lack of results. That wasn't a pleasant discussion, or rather; it was a one-sided tongue-lashing as Uther berated his son for not closing the deal.

"You know how important signing that account is to the quarter's bottom line. We were counting on it."

"Yes, I know, sir." Arthur knew at times like these it was best just to acquiesce and go along with whatever his father said.

"I'll call Cranfield myself and see if I can convince him to change his mind," Uther declared.

Arthur's face was burning with the humiliation of having his father intercede with his client. What Merlin had said on Friday came to mind, so he chanced stating, "Cranfield really hasn't turned the proposal down yet, he just said he needed more time to decide. Let's give him that time before you call him."

Uther stared at his son, wondering about his sudden assertiveness. Maybe he was developing a backbone after all. "Very well. I'll give you three days."

* * *

At noon, Arthur called Merlin into his office. "Go get sandwiches from the deli downstairs. Turkey and Swiss on rye for me."

Merlin put on a stubborn face. "Oh no, I'm not doing that again. I told you no dating and that means in the office or otherwise."

Arthur spoke slowly. "I'm well aware of your ridiculous rule, but this isn't an invitation. As my P.A., one of your responsibilities is to get me lunch when I'm too busy to do so myself." Arthur haughtily added, "You do recall that I am your boss?"

Merlin muttered quietly, "How could I forget?"

"Pay for your own lunch or go hungry, I don't care." Arthur tossed Merlin some cash.

"I brought my own lunch today."

"Well bring it in here when you get back with my sandwich. We need to prepare for the expense audit that starts tomorrow. And don't worry, it'll be a _working_ lunch, not a date, alright?"

Merlin regarded Arthur with some suspicion, but turned and left the office, heading to the deli.

* * *

"So we spent all lunch hour trying to make some sense out of the expense folders Sophia had left. It's a mess. The audit covers the past three years and it looks like all of Arthur's P.A.s had the same lack of filing skills," Merlin explained to Gwen as they took a break. "It'll take me hours, if not days to sort it out."

"I must admit, none of Arthur's P.A.s I've known had much organizational talent," Gwen mused.

"Gwen, do you know much about Arthur's personal life?" Merlin asked cautiously as he chewed on a hangnail.

"I haven't heard much since he broke up with his girlfriend a couple of months ago."

"Girlfriend, eh?" Merlin frowned.

"Do you have a particular reason for asking?" Gwen asked curiously.

"Well, Arthur wants to date me," Merlin said with his face screwed up into a frown.

Gwen looked at Merlin with disbelief. "And you have a problem with that?"

"Yes, he's my boss-I can't date him. But if he weren't, I just don't know. Is he a straight guy just experimenting?"

"You'd best ask Arthur that question, but even though I don't follow the office gossip, I did hear that the reason he broke up with his girlfriend was because he'd come out. They had a terrific row here in his office, so it was pretty hard to ignore the shouting."

"Hmm… But why is he interested in me?"

"That's another question for Arthur. You really need to have a talk with him."

"Right now, I need to tackle that mountain of expense filing."


	7. Working Late

The next day, Arthur was glaring across his desk at Mordred and pursing his lips to avoid saying something he shouldn't. He wasn't sure exactly why, but Mordred had some air about him, some negative vibe that Arthur was picking up on. Maybe all auditors were like that; Arthur hadn't much experience with them before. But Mordred was definitely creeping Arthur out.

"To summarize, you have 24 hours to produce the documentation I've requested. I'll be back tomorrow at 1 P.M. to collect it. You'd best have it ready then, if you want this to go well. I do plan to be very thorough in my review." With that pronouncement, Mordred stood and strode out of Arthur's office.

Within moments, Merlin was hovering near the doorway. "So, how did it go?"

Arthur groaned. "Worse than I expected. We have 24 hours to pull together everything from January 2011 plus gather everything that was for the Bayard account."

"That's not good. I haven't gotten as far back in the filing as 2011 yet. When was the Bayard account?"

"Spring and summer of 2011. I'm afraid I'll need to ask you to work late tonight on this. I need it all wrapped up before the budget meeting tomorrow morning. Can you stay late? I'll help as much as I can."

Merlin frowned. "Yes, but the last bus runs at 9, so if it takes longer that than, I'll need a ride home."

"No problem. Now let's get to work."

After hours of staring at receipts, purchase orders and invoices, both Merlin and Arthur were getting groggy. Arthur declared a break for dinner and ordered in pizza (one veggie, one pepperoni). Once the pizzas arrived (for which Merlin paid half), they adjourned from the desk to the office sofa. Arthur slumped down in the cushiony couch and threw his head back, closing his eyes. "Ooohh. My head is aching."

"Eat something and don't think about expense accounts for at least twenty minutes," Merlin advised.

"OK, let's talk about something different." There was a slight pause and then Arthur continued, "Merlin, would you care to explain to me why you have this rule about not dating people you work with?"

Merlin squirmed. He stalled by taking another bite of pizza and chewing it thoroughly. "That's rather personal," he finally said.

"I think I deserve an explanation, at least," Arthur countered, "since it is impacting me."

Merlin had to concede Arthur had a good point. "Alright, I had a bad experience at the copy place. I went out a couple of times with my supervisor, but then it got ugly. He threatened to fire me if I didn't put out."

Arthur was aghast. "But that's sexual harassment! What did you do?"

Merlin shrugged. "I couldn't afford to lose my job. I needed the money to pay the expenses my scholarship didn't cover. Cenred said it would be my word against his if I complained. I didn't have much choice."

"Merlin, I'm sorry you had to go through that-no one should have to."

"I vowed I'd never put myself in that position again. Hence the rule," Merlin declared.

"I understand why you feel that way, but I hope you don't think I'd ever do something like that." Arthur's eyes pleaded with Merlin to believe him.

Merlin studied Arthur's earnest face carefully before declaring, "No, I don't think you would."

"Well, that's something at least," Arthur murmured to himself.

The paracetamol Arthur had taken after dinner had not diminished his headache noticeably. He found his eyes were having trouble focusing on the paperwork. "How much more to sort through, Merlin? It's nearly midnight."

"These two stacks are the last," Merlin said with a sigh, indicating two piles about four inches tall on the desk. "I think it would be best if I finish sorting these, while you go through the files organized by month and pull out everything related to the Bayard account. I can't tell by looking at the expenses what account it was for. You are the only one with that knowledge."

"Alright. That makes sense." Arthur returned to the couch as the 2011 records in their new monthly folders were stacked on the coffee table in front of it. As he started looking through the files, he found it was near impossible to keep his eyes open. "I'm falling asleep here," he declared after ten minutes of fighting sleepiness. "If I just get a brief nap, I'll be able to finish this up. Wake me up in 45 minutes if I'm still asleep then, OK?

"Sure. I'm going push on."

Arthur sprawled across the sofa and within five minutes, he was sound asleep, his head lolling back against the cushions.

Merlin paused in his work to study Arthur's relaxed face. The fine lines from stress had eased and he looked more youthful. He really was a good man-his reaction to Merlin's sexual harassment proved that, in addition to the integrity he showed in his work. Merlin admitted to himself the attraction he felt toward Arthur was more than just physical. Should he break his rule? But what did Arthur really feel toward him? Was it just physical attraction or something more? Was he just looking to experiment with a casual homosexual experience? Merlin wasn't interested in being someone's guinea pig. He wanted to build a lasting relationship.

As he finished the last of the two stacks about an hour later, he yawned. He didn't have the heart to wake Arthur up-he was sleeping so deeply he was snoring. Merlin moved over to the end of the couch opposite Arthur, slid Arthur's legs aside a bit and settled himself against the cushions, closing his eyes.


	8. Panic and Plans

Arthur, just on the edge of consciousness, tried to turn over, but found he couldn't. He felt a warm heaviness against his chest and shoulder. He jolted fully awake and opened his eyes. The warmth proved to be a sleeping Merlin draped across him, with his face burrowed against Arthur's neck.

'Don't panic,' Arthur told himself while his mind raced. He had the presence of mind not to move physically while he thought this out. How on earth had this happened? He remembered taking a nap, but he must have slept for hours. He checked his watch: 5:52 A.M. Merlin mustn't have woken him, but joined him on the couch instead. Arthur cautioned himself not to read too much into the fact Merlin was relaxed against him, but he did think it was a good sign Merlin, at least unconsciously, felt that comfortable with Arthur. Now, how to wake him without having him panic?

First Arthur very carefully eased Merlin's arm from across his own chest and returned it to Merlin's side. So far, so good. Then Merlin shifted his position to bury his face deeper into Arthur's neck, but didn't wake. Arthur tried to adjust his own position so he could slide Merlin off him, but it all went wrong.

"Wha-?" exclaimed Merlin who was suddenly fully awake. Oh my god, what was he doing? What was Arthur doing right here? Merlin instantly scrambled to the far end of the couch, away from Arthur, and ran his hand through his hair. "Arthur, I don't know what happened." He felt the tips of his ears warming and knew he was blushing. How could he have been snuggling, yes, _snuggling_, against Arthur like that? He was about to die of embarrassment, he was sure. How could he have done that in his sleep?

"No harm done. I don't think you even drooled on me," Arthur said in an attempt to inject some humour into the uncomfortable moment. He failed, judging by Merlin's miserable expression and how he wouldn't look Arthur in the eye. Best to ask about work. "So, were you able to finish the filing last night?" Arthur asked.

"Yes, it's completed and in the monthly folders. When I finished, you were sleeping so deeply, I figured you must have really needed the rest, so I didn't want to wake you like you'd asked."

"Do you make a habit of that, not doing what you're told?" Arthur inquired with the corners of his mouth tugged up into a small smile. "Sometimes, I guess," Merlin answered distractedly. "Anyway, I decided to get some rest myself, so settled in on _this_ end of the sofa. I'm sorry I invaded your personal space. I don't know why I did that-maybe I was cold?" Merlin shrugged and stared at a spot over Arthur's right shoulder, still avoiding meeting his eyes.

Not wishing to make Merlin any more uncomfortable, Arthur decided to keep things strictly business for now. "We've got to finish this up this morning. I'll pull the documents related to the Bayard account if you will run copies of all the January documents. I want to make sure we have an exact record of what we give Mordred. I have an odd feeling about this audit; I don't trust him."

Merlin returned from making copies with two (covered) cups of coffee. At least he was meeting Arthur's eyes now.

After another hour of work, Arthur handed him the sorted Bayard documents. "I've finished. These need copying now. Once you finish that, go home and get some sleep."

"Thanks. What about you?"

"I'll manage. I've got the budget meeting this morning with my father and the executive team. Then I need to give Mordred the fruits of our labours at 1."

After Merlin left, Arthur did his best to freshen up. Splashing cold water on his face certainly helped. He really ought to bring a spare shirt to the office—this one was definitely wrinkled. Oh well, he'd have to put up with it for today. He still had 30 minutes before the meeting, so he picked up the phone and dialled Mithian in Personnel. "Hi Mith, it's Arthur."

"Uh oh, you must want something. You always do when you call me Mith," Mithian chuckled. "What's up?"

"I'd like you to review the sexual harassment policy with Merlin, personally."

"Oh no, what have you done, Arthur? Or do you think Merlin is causing a problem?"

"I haven't done anything and neither has Merlin. Don't jump to conclusions, would you? I just want you to reassure Merlin that there are avenues to report any problems, if they were to occur."

"Alright, I can do that. Anything further you care to tell me?"

"Nothing I can tell you, sorry." "I respect that Arthur. I'll call Merlin today and set a time to meet in the next few days. How is he working out?"

"Okay so far." Arthur replied without conviction. In reality, Merlin was doing a grand job in an unfamiliar role, but he wasn't sure he wanted Mithian to know that yet-what if he ended up firing Merlin so they could date?

"I've not found any suitable P.A. candidates yet with the right skills and, most importantly, the right temperament to deal with you."

"Oi, I'm not that hard to work for," Arthur protested.

"Oh yes, you are. I consider it a good sign that Merlin hasn't phoned me to complain yet." Mithian laughed. "I'm really hoping he works out, as it would be a lot easier to backfill the mail room temp job than the P.A. position."

"Well, I'll keep that in mind. By the way, don't bother trying to call him today-he worked a lot of overtime yesterday so I've given him the day off today. He should be back tomorrow." Arthur didn't mention that they'd both stayed overnight. He didn't want Mithian to read too much into the situation.

"I'll call him tomorrow then."

"Thanks a million, Mith. Oh, and I would appreciate it if you didn't mention that I asked you to speak to him," Arthur requested.

"As long as he doesn't ask me directly, I won't say," Mithian responded. "Arthur, you sure are mysterious today."


	9. Good News

The budget meeting proved to be nearly unbearable. His father pulled him aside as the meeting was starting to chastise Arthur's appearance. "Arthur, your shirt is a mess. What were you thinking coming to a meeting with the executive board looking like that?" Uther ranted, his voice barely above a whisper.

"I thought it was more important that I be here for the meeting than miss it by driving home to change my clothes. I worked late last night and slept in the office," Arthur shot back.

Uther took a closer look at Arthur and found his quiet, deferential son was starting to show some grit and determination; becoming his own man. About time!

The rest of the meeting was heavy on financials, which really wasn't Arthur's strength, but Leon was in his element. While Leon's eyes glinted as he discussed the appropriate line item and account code, Arthur's were heavy lidded as he struggled to stay awake. His father glared at him when he caught him nearly dozing off. At least Arthur's budget request was approved for the next fiscal year.

* * *

As Arthur returned to his office, he found it was too quiet with no Merlin to ask him how the meeting went. He realized that in just a few days, he had come to depend on Merlin's efficiency and organizational skills. He felt he was developing a close friendship with the honest and sensitive man. Not to mention the physical attraction was as strong as ever. Damn, Arthur realized, he couldn't go through with his idea of firing Merlin to date him-he couldn't lose him as a P.A. He'd just have to rely on Merlin to change his mind about his rule or make an exception for Arthur. Hopefully, the talk with Mithian would reassure him enough.

There was still an hour before Mordred was due to show up, so Arthur checked his voicemail. Cranfield had called, but hadn't left a message beyond 'return my call please.' Arthur dialed the number with a mixture of hope and trepidation.

Cranfield himself picked up after the third ring. "Cranfield here."

"Hello Mr. Cranfield. It's Arthur Pendragon, returning your call."

"Yes, good to speak with you again. I wanted to get back to you about your consulting proposal. I've thought it over and spoken with some key people here and have decided to accept it."

Arthur was ecstatic, but kept his voice calm and professional. "That's excellent news, sir. I'm glad to hear we'll be working together."

"Mail the contract over and I'll sign it. Would you be able to come to the main plant in Manchester before the end of the month? I'd like you to personally brief the plant executives on your ideas."

"I'd be happy to. I think I have the time available in my schedule." After some more pleasantries, Arthur hung up and pumped his fist in celebration. Too bad Merlin wasn't here to share in the good news. Arthur surprised himself with the intensity of the loss he felt without Merlin there. He shook his head. He had it bad.

He made his way upstairs to his father's office and was ushered in without much of a wait. Uther was frowning at some paperwork as Arthur stood in front of his desk and cleared his throat. "Father, I have some good news."

Uther sighed and took off his reading glasses. "I could use some good news. What is it?"

"Cranfield called and has accepted our proposal. He told me to send the contract over and he'd sign it." "Good. Just make sure it gets signed by the end of the month so the signing makes this quarter's revenue numbers." Uther was a man who didn't believe in celebrating when you did the job you were expected to do.

Arthur felt deflated. Why did he always think he could win his father's approval by working harder or longer or more efficiently? Nothing he did ever seemed to strike a positive emotion from that man. "Cranfield wants me to meet with his Manchester plant executives before the end of the month to brief them."

"Very well." Uther put his reading glasses on again and picked up his paperwork to resume reading. When Arthur didn't move, Uther looked over the top of his glasses. "Was there something else, Arthur?" he asked pointedly.

"No, sir." No point waiting for recognition of what he'd accomplished. After a lifetime of disappointment, he should know better than to expect it. Yet for some reason, he got his hopes up every time thinking _this_ time it would be different. But it never was.

* * *

After skipping lunch, it was time to meet with Mordred to turn over the requested audit documentation. Mordred explained that he would review the paperwork and come back to Arthur with any specific questions before he wrote up his findings. At that point, Arthur would have 24 hours to explain extenuating circumstances or what corrective actions were to be taken, before Mordred's report and recommendations would be presented to Uther. Arthur presented the two sets of requested information to Mordred and then, thankfully he was gone. He was still setting off alarm bells in Arthur's mind that he wasn't trustworthy.

Arthur's head had begun thumping with another headache. He laid down on the couch, just until he could gather enough energy to go home and get some sleep. His mind turned to Merlin again. Was he sleeping or awake by now? Was he thinking of Arthur? Arthur could visualize a sleepy, hair-mussed Merlin stretching his lean, long frame as he awoke. His rosy lips, just slightly parted, begging to be kissed. With a turn of his head, the tendons in his neck tightened, forming a line from the shoulder to the jaw that Arthur wanted to trace with his mouth.

Arthur shook himself out of his reverie and dragged himself to his feet. He felt more alert after another round of splashing cold water on his face in the washroom, so he decided to head home. His flat was quiet in its emptiness, almost sterile with its stark modern furnishings. Arthur went straight to his bedroom and was asleep within minutes.


	10. Rules Are Made To Be Broken

The next day, Arthur was so eager to share the good news about the Cranfield deal with Merlin he arrived at the office before Merlin did. Every five minutes he checked if Merlin had arrived yet, until finally at 7:30 A.M. he saw Merlin sit down at his desk. Arthur popped his head out of his office, saying, "Once you've settled in, could you come in to my office and I'll brief you on what happened yesterday."

"Of course," Merlin replied, curious as to how Arthur had concluded _he_ needed briefing. Surely it wasn't normal for P.A.s to be briefed by their bosses, but rather the other way 'round. No doubt this 'briefing' would result in a long to-do list for Merlin. He fetched two cups of coffee and headed into Arthur's office.

"You're here early. What's up?" Merlin asked as he relaxed into one of the chairs, sipping his coffee.

"Good news. Cranfield called yesterday to accept the proposal," Arthur said with a small smile.

"That's fantastic, Arthur! I knew you'd done such a great job on the presentation that he was bound to accept it! Congratulations!" Merlin stuck out his hand to shake Arthur's.

Arthur grabbed Merlin's hand; face beaming as he pumped Merlin's hand. "Thanks, Merlin." That was the kind of reaction he'd wished for the day before.

"Your father must be ecstatic, right?" Arthur frowned. "No, ecstatic is not the word I'd use. Satisfied, maybe. He has a lot on his mind." Arthur used his usual excuse for his father's lack of affection.

Merlin took note of Arthur's saddened expression and mentally shook his head at Uther's callousness.

"We need to get the contract over to Cranfield for signing. Go down to Legal on the second floor and speak with Elyan-he's familiar with this deal. Get him to finalize the contract as soon as possible so you can send it out right away."

"Alright. Is the address in the file? And send it express post or by courier?" Merlin queried, trying to gather all the information he'd need to complete the task.

Arthur was impressed with Merlin's thoroughness. He opened his desk drawer and rifled through his business cards. He pulled out one and slid it across the desk to Merlin. "Here's Cranfield's card, and use the courier service. He wants me to go to Manchester to meet with the local execs, so I'll need you to make some travel reservations for me. As soon as the dates are set, I'll let you know so you can get on to that."

Merlin nodded. "Did you meet with Mordred yesterday?"

"Yes. I gave him the documentation packets and it looks like we might have a few days before he comes back with a round of questions."

* * *

The next afternoon, Merlin stuck his head into Arthur's office. "Do you have time to talk now?" he asked and then added, "About something personal?"

Arthur looked up quickly, wondering if this is what he'd been hoping and waiting for. "Sure, I'll make time for you. Come in and shut the door. Would you like something to drink? I'll fetch it."

"No, I'm fine," Merlin responded, while he wondered how to start the conversation.

"So…what did you want to talk about, Merlin?" Arthur prompted after a short uncomfortable silence.

"I spoke with Mithian from Personnel this morning. She went over the company sexual harassment policies with me, including the different ways to report a problem. I'm thinking you had something to do with that-am I right?" Merlin's face was blank, so Arthur couldn't tell if he was angry or not.

He decided honesty would be best, as he didn't want to mess up this opportunity with lies. "Yes, I asked her to review the policies with you, but I told her nothing about your personal experiences," Arthur reassured him.

"Well, it probably wasn't too hard to guess what I might have been through in the past. She was very kind and understanding. Thank you for asking her to do that, Arthur. I appreciate it."

"You're welcome. As I said before, no one should have to experience what you did." Arthur realized he felt protective toward Merlin.

"I remember." The next words came out in a rush. "Arthur, I need to know why you want to date me. I understand you've just come out recently, so I don't know how much experience you've had. I'm not interested in being anyone's experimental foray into homosexuality." When the words had finished spilling out from his mouth, Merlin chewed on his lower lip nervously.

Arthur took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. He could tell that his answer to this question would be critical to his future with Merlin, or lack of future if he answered it incorrectly. "I want to date you because you are smart and sensitive, funny and brave. You stand up to me when no one else will and give me support when I need it. Not to mention your stunning physical appearance, to which I am extremely attracted. I'll admit, I don't have a lot of experience-just some one-night stands with blokes that I've met at gay clubs. But enough to know I really am gay. I don't want any more casual sex though. I want to build a relationship with someone and I want that someone to be you." His vivid blue eyes pleaded with Merlin to recognize his words were spoken truthfully.

Merlin almost had tears in his eyes from hearing such words from Arthur. After he gathered himself, he declared, "I have made a decision. About my rule not to date anyone I work with. I'm willing to make an exception and at least give it a try with you, Arthur. Let's go slow and see how it goes." He paused, a worried look on his face. He continued, "That is, if you still want to go out on a date with me."

Arthur shook his head. "Merlin, you idiot! Of course I still want to go out with you! Didn't I just finish listing all the reasons why? How about dinner this Saturday night? I know a nice Chinese place."

Merlin's face broke out in a wide grin as he said, "Sounds great! Let me know when and where and I'll meet you there."

Arthur was confused. "You don't want me to pick you up at your flat? I'm more than happy to."

"No, I'll meet you at the restaurant. Going slow, remember?" Merlin responded with a mulish expression.

"Alright, alright. I'll follow the rules." Arthur was still exceedingly pleased Merlin had agreed to date him, so he glossed over the niggling worry about Merlin's 'other' rules. He reminded himself this was a man who'd had a bad experience, so he was naturally cautious about being hurt again.


	11. The Exception

Saturday night, Arthur found himself standing in front of the mirror, assessing his image. It was the third shirt he'd tried on, a favourite red one. He had unbuttoned one more button than usual. The man in the mirror was good looking with sun-bleached blond hair, tanned face, square jaw and a smile that showed a few slightly crooked teeth. His body was fit with broad shoulders which narrowed to his hips and a flat stomach. Nothing to not like there, right?

Arthur tried to reassure himself that Merlin would show up at the Chinese restaurant. The whole idea of meeting at the restaurant sounded like an easy way for Merlin to avoid coming if he changed his mind, without having to face Arthur. At least, until Monday morning. He did have that to his advantage-Merlin would still have to see him at work if he stood him up tonight. Arthur scoffed at his own thoughts-not a great way to start a relationship if Merlin only kept their date out of obligation. He reminded himself it was Merlin who was making an exception to his rule for Arthur. That must mean Merlin liked him and saw a possibility for a future relationship.

But Merlin had decreed the pace would be 'going slow'. He re-buttoned his shirt to its usual state, then brushed his fringe off his forehead a bit and it was time to leave.

* * *

Outside the restaurant, Arthur glanced at his watch again. Now Merlin was officially ten minutes late. His doubts resurfaced and he started to pace. He tried to convince himself it really wouldn't matter that much if Merlin didn't want to date him. They could still be friends at the office. Then the image of Merlin's long pale neck flashed through his mind. His brilliant blue eyes, impossible cheekbones and slightly parted lips. He failed to convince himself he would be satisfied with friendship alone. It did matter to him, quite a bit he found.

All of a sudden, Merlin arrived, out of breath. He stopped in front of Arthur and leaned over and put his hands on his knees while he gulped oxygen into his lungs.

"What happened?" Arthur asked with a mixture of concern and relief.

"Bus...bus was...late." Merlin gasped. "I ran here...from the last...bus stop. Didn't want to be late. Afraid you'd think...I wasn't coming." He grinned, creases forming in his cheeks.

The corners of Arthur's mouth turned up. "The thought did cross my mind." Even with his face a bit red with exertion and his hair flying every which-way, Merlin was gorgeous. He was wearing a black shirt and black jeans that were tight-fitting, highlighting his slim build. Long legs led to narrow hips and a very nice arse. Arthur tried not to stare. "Shall we go in?"

Once inside, the owner, Mr. Li, greeted Arthur. "Good evening, Mr. Pendragon. Not the usual to-go order today?"

"No, we'll be dining in." They were seated in a quiet booth at the back of the dining room and presented with menus. After ordering vegetable lo mein (Merlin) and Kung Pao chicken (Arthur), Arthur asked, "Are you a vegetarian? I haven't seen you eat meat."

"Mostly. I get some bad allergic reactions to chicken and beef, so avoid eating them," Merlin answered. "I don't have any philosophical objections to eating meat, so feel free to do so in front of me."

Arthur chuckled. "Well, I'm glad to hear that, considering I've been eating meat it front of you for over a week now."

They compared interests and found some in common, like video games-Arthur challenged Merlin to try to beat him at his favorite, 'Dragons of Avalon.' And other interests they didn't share such as Arthur's passion for football, both watching and playing with some mates in a local league on Sundays. And Merlin's fascination with 'The Hobbit' and the 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy, both books and movies, was met with a blank look from Arthur.

"You really must see the movies-the visuals are stunning and the storyline is epic. There's lots of fighting and wars where the men and elves take a stand against the evil wizard. You'd like it if you enjoy 'Dragons of Avalon'," Merlin advised.

When Merlin asked if Arthur had plans for the upcoming three-day weekend, Arthur rolled his eyes and said "Morgana, my half-sister, somehow got me to agree to escort her to a charity ball, since she is between boyfriends at the moment."

"What's it like to have a sister, er, half-sister?" Merlin asked with curiosity.

"Mostly a pain, at least, mine is. She's five years older than I am and only came to live with Father and I when I was seven, after her mother and stepfather both died in a car crash. She likes to tell me what to do and how to live my life, which I don't appreciate. But, you know, there are times when it really helps to have someone who knows and shares your history and at those times, I'm glad I have her."

Merlin looked wistful. "When I was little I used to wish for a brother or sister, but it was always just my mom and me. My dad left before I was born, so I didn't know him at all."

"I know how that is, to only have one parent. My mother died when I was born. So I was raised by my father and a revolving door of nannies," Arthur added thoughtfully.

The time seemed to fly by, with animated conversation over tea after the meal was finished. The next time Merlin checked his phone for the time, it was past 9:30. "Uh-oh, looks like I will need a ride home after all. The buses quit running at 9."

Arthur had a puzzled look on his face. "But you knew that, so why not let me pick you up if you're willing to let me drive you home?"

"I'll admit, I wasn't sure how tonight would go. If things went badly, I planned to catch a bus home before 9, without any further obligation to you."

Arthur grinned. "It's after nine and you're still here. Should I take that as a sign that this evening hasn't gone too badly?"

Merlin returned the grin and offered, "Yeah, not too badly at all."

* * *

Arthur pulled his car up to the curb outside Merlin's building and turned off the engine. "Merlin, I really enjoyed this evening. I know you said 'go slow' but when can I see you again?"

"Monday morning."

Arthur gave Merlin an exasperated look. "I meant outside of work-seeing you personally. You know, another date."

"I had a really great time tonight, too, Arthur. But let's see how work goes for the next few days before we decide when to go out again."

"Merlin… I have another question… about going slow. Can I kiss you?"

"You mean tonight? Now?"

Arthur barely breathed out a "Yeah."

Merlin answered with a quiet "Alright." Arthur leaned across the seat and pressed a chaste kiss to Merlin's lips. Merlin opened his mouth seeking more and slid his hand behind Arthur's head to pull him tighter. Arthur responded by sucking Merlin's lower lip between his own. Merlin's tongue sought entrance to the moist warmth of Arthur's mouth. Arthur yielded quickly. When they finally pulled apart, Arthur licked his own reddened lips and found the tempting taste that was Merlin still lingered. It tasted good and he wanted more.

Merlin opened his door and said in a quiet voice, "Have a good night, Arthur." He slid out of his seat and disappeared up the steps to his building.

Arthur answered even though Merlin couldn't hear him, " You too, Merlin, you too."


	12. A Tough Match

Arthur was in a good mood on Sunday. The date with Merlin had exceeded his expectations, especially Merlin's response to his kiss in the car. Wanting to keep Merlin's rule about taking it slowly, he decided a chaste kiss would be appropriate but Merlin turned it into something very sexy.

After lunch, he gathered his football gear and headed to the park down the street. Most of the players on the Camelot Knights F.C. team worked for Camelot Consulting, or were their friends. His mates, Gwaine and Lance, were already there and stretching to warm up. Arthur joined them.

"Who are we playing today?" Arthur asked as he stretched out his hamstrings.

"The team from Essetir. You'll remember them from last year. That trash-talking player Cedric is on their team," Gwaine said with a scowl. He flipped his mane of long hair to the side before declaring, "He won't get under my skin this year, no matter whatever he says."

"It isn't Cedric that worries me, but that defender Muirden. Edward Muirden," interjected Lance. "When he fouls, he intends to injury his opponent, so be careful, lads."

Leon, Elyan and the rest of the team ambled in from the car park just as several cars pulled up and unloaded the team from Essetir. There were cat calls, whistles and name calling. Leon cautioned, "Just ignore them. Don't give them the satisfaction of seeing it affect you." He was pointedly looking at Gwaine, who in their last meeting had a mutual shouting and pushing match with Cedric. Both players had been red-carded and ejected from the game.

The two teams were similar in skill level, so the play was competitive. Leon scored first, after a pinpoint pass from Arthur. But Essetir answered it through a penalty kick that stretched Percy out, only to have it graze his fingertips and still land in the back of the net. When they stopped for halftime, the score was 1-1.

Something caught Arthur's eye as he downed an energy drink. One of the people standing around watching the match looked familiar. He had a lean build with a shock of black hair falling in his eyes. It couldn't be Merlin-what would he be doing here? But it _looked_ like Merlin. Oh God, he had it bad: he was seeing Merlin everywhere.

Just to be sure, he walked closer to the man under the pretext of throwing away his energy drink bottle. He still looked exactly like Merlin.

"You do know that's recyclable, don't you?" the man said with a cheeky grin. He _sounded_ like Merlin too.

"Uh, yes, I guess so." Being this close, Arthur was now convinced he wasn't seeing and hearing things. "Merlin, what are you doing here?"

"Other than directing you to recycle more, you mean?" he smirked. "I didn't have much to do today, so thought I'd come watch you play this game you are so passionate about."

Arthur was dumbfounded. Merlin had come on his own to watch Arthur play? "That's great. I thought you didn't like football. Are you enjoying it? Essetir is a tough opponent for us."

"I'm enjoying watching _you_," Merlin said shyly, looking at Arthur from under his long eyelashes. Arthur was captivated and found himself remembering the taste of that mouth.

"Oi, Arthur! Ready to go?" shouted Leon from across the pitch.

Arthur turned to Leon, answering, "Be there in a sec." To Merlin he said, "I've got to get back. Would you like to join us for a pint at the pub afterwards?"

Merlin shook his head. "No, too many people from work. I think it's too soon for us to go public at work. You go and have a good time."

Arthur felt a surge of disappointment. Was this another one of Merlin's rules? "Well, I'll see you tomorrow morning." He trotted back across the pitch towards Leon and the team, but turned once to give Merlin a little wave.

"Arthur, is that Merlin, your P.A.?" asked Leon.

"Yes. I mentioned we were playing today and he stopped by."

The second half proved to be just as difficult as the first half, but more intense. Cedric didn't stop taunting Gwaine over his skill as a footballer, his looks and his parentage. So far, Gwaine had done nothing more than direct wicked glares Cedric's way. Finally, Arthur saw an opening in the defense and he attacked with the ball. His feet deftly dribbled the ball as he ran and dodged the first defender. He almost made it past Edward, but the defender hooked Arthur's shin and torqued it sideways. Arthur yelped as he felt a sharp pain in his knee and he crumpled to the ground.

Play was halted by the referee who immediately raised his hand with the red card pointing at Edward. The medic came at a run to where Arthur still lay on the ground, grabbing at his left knee. After a quick examination, he called for Gwaine and Lance who were closest to help Arthur off the pitch. They each took an arm over their shoulder, supporting Arthur so the injured knee bore no weight at all.

Meanwhile, Leon made ready to take the penalty kick as the Essetir wall lined up to defend. Cedric was on the line and shouted, "You'll fall apart now your pretty boy captain is out of the game. That pouf couldn't take playing with real men!"

Gwaine took two steps toward Cedric before Lance restrained him, fiercely whispering in his ear, "Ignore him. The way to get back at them is to win the match!" Gwaine muttered his concurrence and took his position for the penalty kick. Leon was able to send the ball to the far left corner of the goal when the Essetir goalie guessed wrong. The score was Camelot 2, Essetir 1.

Merlin felt his stomach churn when he saw Arthur go down. He worked his way around the pitch until he was behind the Knights' bench. The medic was just finishing the wrap holding an ice bag on Arthur's knee. "Arthur, are you OK?" Merlin shouted.

Arthur's face lit up when he saw it was Merlin asking. "He thinks it's just a sprained ligament, but I have to go to the A&E to be sure."

As much as Merlin wanted to go to hospital with Arthur, he told himself that would be just as revealing as going to the pub would have been. While the date last night went well, it was too soon to let everyone know about their budding relationship. He still had some lingering doubts about how this would all play out at work. So best he let Arthur's mates take him to have his knee checked out.

Despite fierce competitive play, including more fouls by both sides, there were no more injuries or goals. The match ended with Camelot winning, 2 to 1.


	13. The Missing Approval

Monday morning, Arthur hobbled into the office on crutches, late.

"What are you doing here? You should be resting at home," Merlin protested.

"I didn't want to miss the appointment with Mordred today. It's just a sprained ligament and I can rest it here just as easily as at home. I only have to ice it a bit and keep it elevated. Pull that chair over here and fetch a pillow from the couch."

Merlin organized the chair and pillow then helped Arthur lift his foot to its new perch on the pillow. Arthur held out a plastic bag to Merlin. "Half fill this with ice from the break room refrigerator and I'll put it on my knee."

"Yes, Your Highness," Merlin said sarcastically. But he wasn't overly irritated with Arthur's demands since he knew Arthur needed help and wasn't one to say please and thank you very often. At least that hadn't changed since last week.

Arthur just rolled his eyes.

* * *

When Merlin took his morning break, Gwen was in the break room. "Well? How did it go?" she asked impatiently.

"How did what go?" Merlin replied as he looked around to make sure no one else within earshot.

"Your date with you-know-who, silly."

"Really well," Merlin answered. "We spent most of the time just talking, getting to know each other better. I really like him, Gwen."

"So I take it you didn't escape early and take the bus home?" Gwen asked with a smile.

"No, I definitely didn't," Merlin grinned. "Arthur took me home."

"And?" Gwen prompted.

"He asked for permission to kiss me. I really appreciated that."

"Honestly, Merlin, do I have to pump every word out of you? Did you give him permission? Did you kiss?" Gwen insisted.

"Oh yeah, we did. Arthur started out all respectful, but then I was very enthusiastic. It was really good, too." Merlin's ears were turning a delightful rosy shade.

"I'm so glad everything went well for you. Are you going out again soon?"

"I did go see Arthur and the Camelot team play their football match yesterday."

Gwen narrowed her eyes at him. "The very next day? You really like him a lot, don't you? I guess that was when Arthur got hurt?"

"Yeah, one of the Essetir players tripped him on purpose. He was red carded. Arthur has a sprained knee ligament."

"What about another date?" Gwen asked.

"I told him I wanted to wait and see how things go at work first. I don't want our relationship outside of work affecting the relationship here at work."

"Merlin, I'm not sure that's a realistic expectation. Surely some things will change, but maybe for the better?" Gwen advised.

"I'll have to see," Merlin concluded.

* * *

Mordred entered Arthur's office with a smirk on his face. Arthur was sure that could portend nothing good.

"Good morning, Mordred." Arthur schooled his face into a blank expression.

"Hello, Arthur. I won't take up much of your time. I just have one discrepancy with which you can help me. According to the financial ledger, there was an expense charged by your department for £7,152.81 for software. However, you failed to provide any documentation of an approval for this expense."

"I'm sure it was just an oversight in collecting the data. Do you have a date of the charge?" Arthur immediately racked his brain but had no recollection of a software purchase so expensive. On the exterior, he remained calm.

Mordred checked his notes and replied, "January 18th, 2011. You have until 11 A.M. tomorrow to provide the documentation or your explanation. We'll be meeting with Uther at noon to give him the results."

* * *

Arthur shouted for Merlin as soon as Mordred was gone.

"Yes, Arthur? You bellowed." Merlin smiled.

Arthur wasn't in the mood for banter. "Mordred says we missed submitting approval documentation for a software purchase on January 18th, 2011. Over £7000. It's funny because I don't remember any such purchase."

"Would you be likely to recall it? It was over two years ago." Merlin suggested doubtfully.

Arthur frowned in concentration. "For an amount that high, I think I would."

"First we should check to see if it was just mis-filed. I'll review November's and December's folders if you do January's and February's, okay?"

"Sounds like a good plan. You know, Merlin, you can be very...sensible?" Arthur looked at Merlin with wonder. "An isle of calm in a sea of troubled waters."

Merlin just shook his head. Arthur was getting sappy. "Let's get started."

After ninety minutes of work and nothing found, Merlin suggested, "Let's try coming at this from the other direction. How does Mordred know there was an expense on January 18th related to software?"

"Good idea. He said it was shown in the financial ledger accounts. Could you ask Leon to join us here as soon as possible? He's the Finance expert."

* * *

Leon used Arthur's computer to consult the ledger entry Mordred had referenced. "Okay. Here is where it shows a software license purchase hit the ledger on the 18th of January in the amount of £7,152.81. The only odd thing is it was a manual journal entry, not one automated from the Procurement system."

"Can you tell who made the entry and when?" Arthur asked, with raised suspicions.

"No, I don't have access to that data. That information would only be visible to the database administrator."

"And who would that be?" Arthur asked. "I think we need to pursue this further. I've had a bad feeling about Mordred from the beginning of this audit."

"I think it's Gwaine, or if not, he'll know who to ask," Leon responded with a shrug, since it was Gwaine they were talking about. The temperamental man worked in the I.T. department. Everyone put up with his occasional emotional outbursts because he was so brilliant at systems support. He knew details about every computer system and application Camelot Consulting used.

"I'll call him first, but then, Merlin, I want you to go downstairs and sit on his desk until he looks into this. He has a tendency to get distracted easily."


	14. The Answer Is Found

Merlin stuck his head into the darkened office and addressed the man seated behind three flickering computer screens, "Are you Gwaine?" The man turned his head toward Merlin and answered, "Yes. And you are?"

Merlin recognized the long hair and scruffy beard from the football match the day. "I'm Merlin. I've been filling in as Arthur Pendragon's P.A."

"Ah yes, Arthur called to say you'd be down." Gwaine gave Merlin a once over with his eyes and then asked, "Did I see you at the match yesterday? Don't tell me His Highness had you working there?"

"Oh no, I just came out to see the team play." Well, mostly to see Arthur, but Gwaine didn't need to know that.

Gwaine smiled at him. "Good to have another football fan around! So, what can I do for you?" he asked.

"It's for Arthur really. We need to know who made a specific manual ledger entry. Do you have access to that kind of information?" Merlin asked hopefully.

Gwaine rolled his eyes. "Of course, I'm the administrator of the Financial databases. Which specific transaction do you need to know about?"

Merlin gave him the details and Gwaine's fingers started flying across his keyboard. In a matter of moments, Gwaine frowned at the screen. "That record's locked. That's very unusual. Fortunately, I can unlock it." More typing ensued and then Gwaine let out a long, low whistle. "What are you and Arthur into, Merlin? This entry was made last week not in 2011. And the user ID that entered the transaction is owned by Mordred Druidan."

Merlin sucked in his breath and blew it out slowly. "Can you document what you've found? Mordred is auditing Arthur's expenses and he is claiming Arthur failed to approve this expense in January of 2011. It looks like Arthur's suspicions were right: Mordred has faked the entry in the ledger."

* * *

Merlin reported Gwaine's findings to Arthur immediately. "What are you going to do now, Arthur?"

"I think I'll play dumb with Mordred so he doesn't suspect anything. Then at the meeting with my Father, I'll expose Mordred's scam. I'll have Gwaine on hand to confirm the fabricated ledger entry."

Merlin frowned. "You'll have to act panicky when you meet Mordred at 11 tomorrow though. So he doesn't get suspicious and try to destroy any evidence. How good an actor are you?"

Arthur grinned, "I can do 'panicky' with no problem." He then proceeded to furrow his brow and tighten his lips. His eyes flit nervously from side-to-side.

Merlin laughed. "Don't overdo it! Or you'll have him thinking you've gone psychotic or something. What you say to him will probably be more important. Meanwhile, I'd better spend the afternoon searching through the files again just to keep up the appearance that we've not found anything."

"Good idea, Merlin. I'll come out and check on how you are doing a couple of times, shouting at you to show how worried I am."

"No need to get carried away with the shouting. Once will do," Merlin cautioned. He was struck by how much he was enjoying working with Arthur, who treated him like a partner more than an underling. And so far nothing had seemed to change since they'd been dating, except maybe Arthur not insulting him as much as before. iThat/i he could live with. Maybe it was time to take another step?

"Arthur, would you like to come to my flat for dinner on Friday? I make a pretty good vegetable lasagna." Merlin felt it was his turn to offer the next date, but he couldn't afford a fancy restaurant, so a home-cooked meal it would be.

Arthur was surprised by the offer, but pleased. Merlin was opening up to him more and more. Inviting him to his flat was a significant step. "You think you are going to convert me, eh? Over to the vegan side?"

"For one meal, at least. I know that I can cook this well. I don't know that you'd want to eat any meat dishes if I cooked them. So, how about it? Are you adventurous enough to eat a vegan meal?"

"Never let it be said Arthur Pendragon is afraid of vegetables!" Arthur declared with a toothy grin. "I'm game. What time on Friday?"

Merlin's grin spread from cheek to cheek in response. "How about 7:15?"

"That works for me. I know your building, but what's the flat number?"

"It's 3A. Oh, but there's no elevator. Will you be able to manage the stairs with your crutches?"

"By Friday, I probably won't need these crutches, maybe just a cane. But either way, I'll make it up to your flat."

* * *

Merlin spent the rest of the day shuffling through folders of receipts, purchase orders, requisitions and invoices, pretending to search for the information about the software licenses purchase. Around 3 P.M. Arthur emerged from his office on his crutches, yelling for Merlin, who had just started his break and was in the break room.

"There's no time for breaks, Merlin. You've got to find the documentation for the software purchase, or we are going to fail this audit." Arthur certainly had the attention of everyone within shouting distance. Word would get back to Mordred through someone, no doubt.

Merlin didn't have to fake his unhappiness at having his break interrupted. He returned to his desk with a begrudging look at his boss. "That's all I've been doing today, Arthur. Hunting for that software purchase approval. I haven't found it anywhere. Are you sure you approved it?"

"I must have, for that high a value. It has to be somewhere in the files."

"Well, I'll keep looking," Merlin stated to end their play acting, while Arthur nodded and hobbled back to his office.


	15. Not Always What It Seems

The next day, Mordred entered Arrhur's office confidently. "Arthur. Do you have the documents for the software approval that were missing?"

Arthur studied the auditor. What did he hope to gain by faking the expenditure, beyond having Arthur fail the audit? Was it a personal vendetta? Arthur couldn't recall much interaction with Mordred prior to the audit, much less anything that could inspire such vitriol. "No, we haven't found the approval yet," Arthur stated, his voice exasperated. "Can we have some more time? Are we able to postpone the meeting with my father?" he asked, worry projected from his face and in his voice.

As Arthur expected, Mordred was not accommodating. "Don't you remember? Uther is heading to New York tomorrow to tour the American offices. He'll be gone for two weeks. He wants this audit wrapped up before he leaves, so today is it!"

"Damn," Arthur said passionately and then sighed. "I guess I'll just have to fall on my sword in front of Father and admit there must be a hole in our approval process," Arthur concluded for Mordred's sake.

"I recommend you put together an action plan to patch that process and have it ready for the noon meeting with Uther." With that statement, Mordred left Arthur's office.

* * *

Arthur and Gwaine were leaving Arthur's office, when Merlin heard his boss say with irritation, "Com'on, Merlin. We don't want to be late for the meeting with my father."

"What? You want me to come?"

"Yes, you were integral in the investigation. You should see the results first hand." Merlin was again surprised that Arthur was treating him like a colleague, not his subordinate. He liked that.

As the trio was escorted into Uther's conference room, they found Mordred already present and engaging in small talk with Uther.

Uther broke off the chit-chat and declared, "Now that Arthur's here, we can start."

Mordred stepped to the far end of Uther's conference table, and used the remote to start his presentation.

"We're here today to review the audit findings for the UK operating unit, headed by Arthur Pendragon. First I'll cover the scope of the audit, then the sampling done and finally the conclusions."

As Mordred droned on, Merlin kept his eyes on Arthur seated across the table. While his face was neutral, his body language spoke of his confidence. He sat easy in the chair, shoulders back and arms relaxed. His blue eyes were leveled at Mordred. Merlin's mind drifted back to the kiss in the car and his gaze focused on Arthur's lips, rosy and slightly chapped. He wanted to soothe them with his tongue and taste Arthur's mouth again.

Mordred started to talk about the missing approval for the software purchase, which made Merlin turned his attention back to the presentation. "Arthur was unable to provide approval documentation for this large expenditure."

Uther leaned forward in his chair. "What do you have to say about this, Arthur?"

Arthur stood and faced his father. "The reason there is no approval paperwork is simple, really. It's because the expenditure never took place in January 2011. As a matter of fact, it never took place at all. This entry in the ledger was fabricated by someone using Mordred's user ID." Arthur turned to face Mordred accusingly. He gestured towards Gwaine seated beside him. "I have Gwaine Green from the I.T. department here who can swear that it was a manual entry made in the ledger last week."

Merlin expected Mordred to sputter defensively, but he just frowned, still calm and collected. It was Uther who unexpectedly laughed and Merlin saw he was smiling as he said, "Well played, Arthur. I didn't think you would find the evidence of Mordred's deception. You've proven me wrong."

Arthur's face was screwed up in bewilderment. "I don't understand, sir. You knew about the fake entry in the ledger?"

"Of course I knew about it. It was I who directed Mordred to do it."

"But why?"

"It was a test for you, Arthur. To see how you would react to the missing documents and whether you could ferret out the truth of the ledger entry."

Arthur's brow was furrowed and he held his body stiffly. His anger was boiling just below the surface. "You felt it necessary to test my reactions?"

"Yes. I need to be sure you can defend yourself and the company from internal and external attacks. This can be a cutthroat business. You know you are in line to become the CEO when I retire someday. I need to be sure this company will be in capable hands."

Arthur spat out between clenched teeth, "I would have appreciated more faith in my abilities." He turned to leave the conference room and Merlin and Gwaine jumped up out of their seats to join him in exiting.

* * *

Arthur's anger spilled out when he reached his office. He slammed the door shut, but Merlin boldly opened it and slipped into the office. He didn't think Arthur should be alone when he was this angry.

"I can't believe it. He set this up just to test me. You know how much time and effort we put into this audit," he protested to Merlin, who stood near the door in case he needed to make a quick escape. Arthur flung his crutches aside and plopped in his chair.

"I think I've demonstrated before that I'm perfectly capable of leading this company. Why he thinks he needs to put me through such an exercise, I don't know."

Merlin tentatively offered, "Maybe he just has a mental image of you and your abilities from when you were younger that he can't seem to overcome?" To himself, he said, _'Why am I defending Uther? To help Arthur find some peaceful accord in his relationship with his father, I guess.' _Having grown up without a father, Merlin felt the distress between Arthur and his father keenly. He didn't want Arthur to lose his relationship with Uther, even if it wasn't the best relationship.

Arthur sighed heavily and stated, "You're right, Merlin. My father doesn't see me as I am now. He still thinks of me as an impetuous and rebellious teenager. I've matured since then, but he doesn't see it." He paused, regarding Merlin closely. "You know, you can be very wise at times."

Merlin smiled at the praise from Arthur. "You're very perceptive to notice. Most people don't see anything beyond the surface of a slightly clumsy geek. So, we have that in common-people don't see us as we really are."


	16. The Door Is Closed

Arthur slowly stepped up the third flight of stairs, supporting his bad knee with the cane. It wasn't easy, but less difficult than crutches would have been. He checked his watch. He was only five minutes late. He stopped in front of the door with the '3A' on it and brushed his fringe to the side. He rapped on the door, but there was no immediate response. He knocked again, and heard a muffled 'Coming.'

Merlin opened the door and stood there a bit breathless. "Arthur. You're here."

"Obviously."

"Come in. Dinner's almost ready. Would you like some wine?"

"That sounds great. Do you need any help in the kitchen?" Arthur offered.

"No, rest your knee in the living room. It's over there." After Arthur seated himself on the couch, he took a look around. It was a small flat, with miss-matched but functional furniture. There were only a few personal touches: a photograph of a woman Arthur presumed was Merlin's mother and another of Merlin with his arms locked with a young man. Arthur wondered who he was.

Merlin brought the bottle of red wine to Arthur along with a corkscrew and two glasses. Arthur opened the wine and poured the two glasses. "To beginnings," he toasted.

They clinked glasses and Merlin said, "That's a cryptic toast. Beginning of what-it could be almost anything."

"So you want me to be more explicit? Okay, how about, 'To the beginning of our relationship'?" Arthur raised his glass again along with his eyebrow.

"That's something I'd gladly toast to," Merlin replied, raising his own glass and taking a sip. "Let's get to the table. Dinner's ready."

* * *

The vegetable lasagna was tasty and Arthur had a second helping. "That was delicious. I never thought you to be a good cook, but you are," Arthur praised Merlin.

"I have many talents you don't know about," Merlin replied with a smile.

As they moved back to the living room, Merlin asked, "Do you want to play 'Dragons of Avalon'? I seem to recall you challenged me to try to beat you or would you rather watch a DVD?"

"A movie-how about one of The Lord of the Rings movies you are so enthralled with? I figure it is the least I can do since you came to watch my football match," Arthur offered.

Merlin's face broke out in a huge grin and he scrambled to load the DVD into the player. "You'll really like this, I'm sure. This is the first of the trilogy, unless of course, unless you count 'The Hobbit,' which would make it four, but they're coming out with another Hobbit movie at Christmas, which would be the fifth one..." Merlin voice trailed off as he realized Arthur was chuckling. "What's so funny?"

"You're just so enthusiastic, that's all."

Merlin lowered the lights in the living room as Arthur settled into the couch. Arthur opened his arms and motioned for Merlin to come sit within his embrace. "C'mere, you idiot," he said with affection.

"Prat," Merlin responded but sat down beside Arthur and Arthur's arms enveloped him, his head resting on Arthur's chest.

* * *

Bright, happy scenes of The Shire were giving way to a darker atmosphere in the movie, but Arthur wasn't noticing as he nuzzled at Merlin's neck. Merlin protested, "Arthur, are you paying attention?"

"Of course I am paying attention...to your neck and jaw and ears...your beautifully big ears," Arthur answered as he kissed his way from neck to ear. He licked at the shell of the ear and Merlin squirmed.

"That tickles. And you're missing the movie."

"I'll watch it some other time," Arthur muttered into Merlin's cheek.

"Oh hell, I've seen it a gazillion times," Merlin exclaimed as he turned into Arthur's embrace and they sought out each other's lips. Merlin clung to Arthur's broad shoulders then moved one hand to run through Arthur's blond hair, pulling him in tighter. Arthur sucked on Merlin's lower lip, with his tongue probing for entrance. It was gladly granted by Merlin's mouth and the two tongues twisted around each other.

Merlin and Arthur adjusted their position so they were mostly lying on the couch, Merlin on top of Arthur. Arthur ran his hands up and down Merlin's back. He pulled Merlin's shirt up, seeking skin. He broke off from the kiss for air and muttered, "...Need you... want you..." He returned to sucking at Merlin's jaw, relishing the rough feel of his stubble. He adjusted their positions a bit so he could access Merlin's neck. Arthur tugged at Merlin's shirt collar with irritation, pulling it and the shirt away from Merlin's shoulder. A purpling bruise was forming where Arthur had sucked at the junction of Merlin's neck and shoulder.

Merlin, who had been tugging fiercely on Arthur's hair to pull him closer, suddenly sat upright. Arthur blinked in surprise and asked, "Is something wrong?"

Merlin blushed. "No, nothing's wrong. I was just going to unbutton my shirt before you ripped the buttons off." He added with a small smile, "This is one of my favourite shirts."

"By all means, just take it off," Arthur demanded, his eyes raking Merlin's torso as it was revealed. Merlin proved to have wiry muscles on his lean frame. There was a smattering of dark chest hair that contrasted starkly against the pale ivory skin.

Arthur moved to pull Merlin closer again, but Merlin stiff-armed him. "No, you too. I want to see you," Merlin said shyly.

"Alright," Arthur replied as he pulled his shirt off over his head. He shone golden with his tanned skin and fine blond hair. His muscles were well-defined from his broad shoulders to his flat abdomen. While Arthur was aware he was considered good-looking, Merlin's open mouth and his darkened staring eyes made him feel self-conscious. "What's the matter?" Arthur asked as he looked down at himself.

"Nothing. You're just gorgeous, that's all," Merlin responded. Arthur's neck and face took on a rosy glow as he blushed from the raw admiration in Merlin's look and voice.

"You're pretty special yourself. C'mere." Arthur lay back on the couch and pulled Merlin back into his arms. They locked lips.

Suddenly, the door flew open and Will blustered his way in. Startled, Arthur and Merlin broke apart immediately. "Merlin, what are you doing?" Will indignantly demanded. "Is this your boss who's been harassing you?"

Merlin, his lips red from the kissing, could only stammer in surprise, "Wha-what?"

Will stepped forward into the living room to confront Arthur, who was now standing beside the couch. "I don't know what you think you're doing, buster, but stay away from my boyfriend!" With that statement, Will unleashed a right hook to Arthur's face the same time that Merlin squealed, "Boyfriend?"

Arthur, stunned from the blow, could only shake his head to clear it as he tried to staunch the blood pouring from his nose with his hands. He was shocked to realize Merlin already had a boyfriend, and an angry one at that. This explained the photo of the young man with his arm locked with Merlin's.

The flow of blood was slowing when Merlin returned from the kitchen with a damp towel and a bag of frozen peas which he plopped on Arthur's nose. "Watch it, I think it's broken," Arthur cautioned.

"Arthur, don't listen to him. Will's just my flatmate. He's drunk and jealous." Merlin tried to explain but Arthur's expression looked dubious from what Merlin could see around the frozen vegetables.

"He doesn't look drunk," Arthur observed. "If he's just your flatmate, how come you never mentioned him before?"

Will possessively draped an arm over Merlin's shoulder and Merlin shoved it off, "No, Will. Honest, Arthur, Will is just a good friend from back home who needed a place to stay."

Arthur struggled to put his shirt back on then said, "I'm going now." He gathered his cane and started for the door.

Merlin could hardly believe this was happening. "No, Arthur, please stay." Arthur didn't stop. Merlin shouted after him through the open doorway, "Why don't you believe me? You're going to take his word over mine?" Now Merlin was angry and he stubbornly didn't follow Arthur out the door, closing it instead.


	17. The Aftermath

Merlin turned to Will who was still rubbing his knuckles, smarting from the punch, and demanded "Why on earth did you say I was your boyfriend?"

Will shrugged. "It's not a good that you're dating your boss. It'll lead to trouble eventually. I was just saving you from that pain."

Merlin was dumbfounded. "But I should be the one deciding who I date, not you."

"You're too close to the situation to see it objectively, so I was just helping you out. You'll thank me once you get some distance from this."

Merlin shook his head. "No, I don't think I will. You crossed the line here, so I think it is best you move out, Will."

"Really? You're kicking me out?" Will replied incredulously. "Wow, you must have really liked that guy."

"Yeah, I did, Will. I still do," Merlin replied softly. Hopefully he and Arthur could patch things up.

"Some boyfriend you got there. Never met me before, but he's believing me over you."

Will's words cut straight to Merlin's heart because he knew they were true. The lack of trust was his issue with Arthur. Why didn't Arthur believe him when he said Will was just his flatmate? Though he had to admit, he had never mentioned Will to Arthur before-it had just never come up. And Merlin only thought of Will as a temporary flatmate, sleeping on his couch until he could find a place of his own.

* * *

Arthur tugged on the cummerbund of his tuxedo and grumbled to himself, not for the first time, at how had he let Morgana talk him into this? The last thing he wanted to be doing was spending the evening at this charity ball with Morgana. He'd much rather be home alone, drowning in his misery over the loss of Merlin. But here he was, smiling a fake smile, making meaningless chatter as he glad-handed people he didn't know. He wasn't even sure what the charitable cause was beyond something to do with animals judging by the large photos in the lobby of sorrowful dogs and cats. At least there was alcohol.

Arthur leaned over to ask Morgana, "Do you want a refill on your champagne? I'm heading to the bar for another scotch."

"Another? What's gotten into you, Arthur? You usually only have one or two. Am I going to have to drive you home tonight?"

"Probably. Getting plastered sounds like a good idea right now."

"C'mon, tell your big sis what's going on? Why are you in this foul mood?"

"After I get my drink, okay?" Arthur hoped Morgana would have moved on to dance with someone by the time he got back and would have forgotten about prying into his personal life.

Unfortunately, he had no such luck. She was still at the table, swirling the last of the champagne in her glass, when he returned. He juggled the drinks from his hand to the table as he balanced with his cane. He offered her the replacement champagne and sat down. The party had been underway for quite a while now, so he felt he could undo his bow tie and unbutton the neck of his shirt.

"Time to come clean. What's gotten you in this miserable state?" Morgana asked with a steely tone in her voice.

When she had that attitude there was no getting around her. He'd have to talk about it. With a sigh, he said, "It's Merlin."

"I thought that was going really well. At least, that's what Gwen said when I talked to her yesterday. And when I saw you Thursday at work, you were practically beaming at him."

"It iwas/i going well. The dinner at Merlin's flat last night started out great, but everything fell apart when Merlin's boyfriend showed up. He punched me and nearly broke my nose."

"So you really didn't run into a door to get that shiner then?" Morgana chided with a smile. "What did Merlin say? From what Gwen's said about him, he doesn't seem like the type to two-time anyone."

"He tried to claim this Will bloke was just his flatmate, not his boyfriend. But I want to know why it had never come up in our conversations that he even had a flatmate. Evidently he'd been telling his boyfriend I was harassing him. Hence the bloody nose."

"This all sounds very fishy, Arthur. You should talk to Merlin about this," Morgana said, her green eyes full of concern for her maudlin brother.

"He doesn't want to talk to me. He didn't come after me when I walked out. He just shut the door and went back to his boyfriend."

"So that's it then? You're not going to give him a chance to explain? Obviously Merlin likes you or he wouldn't have been dating you. And I've never seen you look happier. Who knows, maybe he's breaking up with this boyfriend? Aren't you going to fight for him?"

Arthur sat slumped in the chair, mulishly staring at the centerpiece on the table. He didn't answer Morgana.

"Arthur, you worked so hard to get Merlin to agree to go out with you in the first place and now you won't even speak to him about this? You mustn't like him as much as you made out then."

Arthur's answer was barely audible. "No, I like him a lot. An awful lot." He took a large swig of his scotch.

* * *

After the party ended, Morgana had to drive them to Arthur's flat as Arthur was in no condition to operate his car. Good thing she knew how to drive a stick. Once at his flat, she maneuvered Arthur to his bedroom. Arthur, when completely drunk, got talkative. "'Gana," he said using his name for her from childhood, "How come Merlin doesn't want me anymore?"

His plaintive tone tugged at her heart. "Sweetie, you don't know that he doesn't. This could all be a big misunderstanding." She got him out of his tuxedo shirt and trousers. "You really need to talk to him, Arthur."

"But it hurts," Arthur murmured.

"I know, sweetie, but you need to know the whole story. Promise me you'll think about talking to him."

As she got him under the bedcovers, she heard him say, "Okay, 'Gana. I'll think 'bout it."

She bent over him and kissed his forehead. "Good night, sweetie." Once back in the living room, she called a cab to get back to her own flat.


	18. Hidden Feelings

Arthur's Sunday morning was a total waste since he slept past noon. He finally came to with his head pounding and his knee throbbing. Damn, he must have twisted it again somehow. Once he showered and took some paracetamol, he started to feel a bit better. Breakfast was out of the question; his stomach still felt queasy.

He dialled Leon's mobile. "Leon, it's Arthur. I can't make it to the game today."

"No worries. We've already got a sub for you. I wasn't expecting your knee would allow you to play today."

"No, I mean I won't be able to be on the sidelines for moral support. My knee is acting up and I don't feel well," Arthur explained.

"Ah, so last night's party must have been a good one," Leon said with a chuckle.

"Something like that," Arthur replied morosely.

Leon picked up on his tone. "Hey, Arthur, are you okay? You sound kind of down."

"Yeah, I'm alright," Arthur responded. Leon was a good friend, but this wasn't something Arthur wanted to talk about.

Leon knew not to push. "Okay, I'll tell the team you're supporting them long distance today. Take it easy and I'll see you at work on Tuesday."

At least Monday was a holiday, so Arthur could avoid seeing Merlin for another day. He was determined not to let Merlin know how devastated he was. He would be professional and only speak to Merlin when absolutely necessary, for business reasons. He briefly contemplated firing Merlin just so he wouldn't have to face him but Mithian would be all over him for firing without cause. And Merlin really had become indispensable to Arthur in the office. It was like he could read Arthur's mind and anticipate his needs almost before Arthur himself did.

There was no way around it-he needed Merlin as his PA. They'd just have to be business-like about it and not let their emotions get in the way. Arthur chewed his lower lip as he tried to imagine how he could bury his feelings of hurt and disappointment. He was especially disheartened because their physical relationship had been advancing so well after their last dinner. He could still see Merlin's bruised lips and the purple mark he'd left at the juncture of his shoulder and neck. As wrecked as Merlin looked, Arthur knew he had been the same. They had something special, and now, it was gone.

Dwelling on what he'd lost wasn't any way to move beyond the disappointment, Arthur chided himself. He'd just have to suppress any emotion in favour of a cool, calm demeanour.

* * *

Tuesday morning, Merlin sat fidgeting at his desk. He wasn't sure what was going to happen with Arthur today. Would he be screaming angry or quietly furious? Merlin was still disappointed Arthur hadn't believed his explanation, but he was willing to concede that maybe the situation had been too emotionally charged for Arthur to listen to explanations. Being punched in the nose wasn't particularly conducive towards logical thinking either.

Arthur was late arriving and surprisingly was using his crutches again, not the cane.

Merlin, forgetting what he'd planned to say, blurted out, "Is your knee worse? You're back on the crutches."

Arthur stopped where he was and looked Merlin over. "You're the Master of the Obvious this morning, I see. Look, I don't want to discuss anything regarding what happened on Friday night. This is going to be a business relationship only. What you do on your own time is your own business." With that declaration, Arthur limped into his office.

Merlin just sat there with his mouth open. So this was how Arthur's was going to deal with the issue, distant and impersonal. Maybe he'd misjudged how much their relationship meant to Arthur if he could brush this off with so much detachment.

"Merlin," Arthur shouted from his office.

Maybe he had more to say, Merlin hoped. "Yes, Arthur?" he called as he rose out of his chair.

"Get me my coffee and some ice for my knee."

Hopes dashed, Merlin answered, "Yes, sir."

"And make sure you don't spill the coffee or trip over your own feet." The insults were back.

* * *

Once Merlin delivered the coffee and the ice, Arthur had him close the door as he left. Now alone, Arthur held his head in his hands and screwed up his eyes so he wouldn't cry. He hadn't expected seeing Merlin in person would tear at his heart so much. Merlin had looked so hopeful, almost like nothing had even happened. Evidently, Arthur had been mistaken in thinking Merlin would be upset about their breakup. Their budding relationship must have just been a fun fling for him. Well, it had been more than that for Arthur.

There was a knock at the door and Arthur jumped. "Who is it?"

"Leon."

Arthur took in a deep breath and blew it out. "Come in."

"Good morning, Arthur. I brought by the quarterly results for your review." Leon plopped a sheaf of pages on Arthur's desk.

"Thanks, Leon. I'll take a look at them. How'd the match go on Sunday?" Arthur asked with slight interest.

"Caerlon barely put up a fight. We won 3-nil. I see you're icing your knee again. How is it?"

"I guess I tweaked it somehow on Saturday, because it started hurting on Sunday and hasn't quit. I'm blaming Morgana and her charity ball."

"Good luck with that. Morgana is not likely to take the blame for anything." Leon paused, studying Arthur carefully. "So what's really wrong, Arthur? Care to explain how you got the black eye?"

"Nothing's wrong, and no," Arthur declared adamantly.

"No, I know you. Even on Sunday, you were definitely down. Now you're moping in your office with your door shut and your eyes are red. What's up?"

Arthur tried a different tack with Leon. "Look, Leon, this is something personal. I don't want to talk about it. I just need some time to work through it, okay? Can you respect my privacy, please?"

Leon touched Arthur on the shoulder. "Alright, I'll back off. But when you _do_ want to talk about it, I'm available, okay?" "Okay."

As Leon turned to leave, Arthur added, "Leon, thanks. You're a good friend."


	19. At Odds

Merlin was frustrated. It was a relief when he was able to take his afternoon break with Gwen. They went down to the lobby cafe to have lattes in a more private setting than the break room.

"Oh Gwen, it's been horrible today. Everything with Arthur has fallen apart." Merlin closed his eyes to hold back the tears.

"What's happened, Merlin?" Gwen urged. "Was it the date Friday night?"

"Dinner went great and afterwards we began to watch _The Fellowship of the Ring_. While it was playing, Arthur initiated some serious kissing. Then Will, my flatmate, came home and everything went to hell."

"Wait, you have a flatmate? You've ever mentioned that."

"Why does everyone say that? It's not a big deal," Merlin huffed. "Not unless your demented flatmate lies and says he's your boyfriend, accuses the man you're dating of harassment and punches him in the nose," Merlin finished in a sarcastic tone.

"What? Your flatmate punched Arthur?" Gwen asked incredulously.

"Yes, he gave Arthur a bloody nose and that shiner he's sporting today. But the worst thing was when I said Will wasn't my boyfriend, that he was just my flatmate, and Arthur didn't believe me." Merlin stifled a sob.

"What do you mean, he didn't believe you?"

"I don't know why, but Arthur believed Will was and still is my boyfriend. Before we could talk any more, he ran out the door."

"You didn't go after him?" Gwen asked.

"I should have, but I was mad Arthur didn't believe me over Will, so I didn't. I thought we could talk about it today," Merlin admitted.

"Oh, you poor thing." Gwen enveloped Merlin in a hug. "What's happened today?"

"When Arthur arrived, he declared he didn't want to discuss what happened. He said whatever I did on my own time was my business and that our relationship would be strictly professional. Since then, he's been running me ragged with all sorts of demands: fetch more ice, pull another report, run down to Legal."

"Merlin, you've got to talk to him about this. You guys had something good going. You can't give that up without a fight," Gwen stated.

"Maybe I was just deluding myself with how good it was. Arthur certainly doesn't seem too heart-broken," Merlin sighed.

Gwen shook her head. "I don't believe that. Each person has their own way of dealing with heartbreak. You just may not recognize how Arthur's handling it."

"But he said he didn't want to discuss it-how am I supposed to approach him to talk about it?"

"Maybe get him out of the office environment-invite him to lunch?" Gwen suggested.

"I don't think he'd accept my invitation at this point." "No matter what you do, you'll have to decide if a relationship with Arthur is worth the extra effort in order to get him to see your point of view," Gwen admonished.

"I'll think about it," Merlin said cautiously.

* * *

Wednesday was more of the same between Merlin and Arthur. Arthur was cold and demanding. His acerbic tongue was back, cautioning Merlin not to be clumsy or overlook the obvious. Leon had just left Arthur's office after a meeting on the Cranfield account, when Arthur shouted, "Merlin, get in here!"

"You could use the intercom to call me, you know. Rather than bellowing like an ox," Merlin retorted as he entered Arthur's office.

"I find it easier to yell," Arthur smirked.

Merlin shook his head. Arthur didn't get it. "Prat," Merlin said under his breath, but Arthur heard it anyway. "It would be a sign of respect to me and nicer for everyone else in the office that has to hear you scream. So what do you need now?"

"Cranfield called and he wants us in Manchester next Monday. You need to make the reservations," Arthur ordered.

"When you say 'us', do you mean you and Leon?" Merlin asked, with a look of puzzlement on his face. Arthur took on a mulish look. "Leon can't go due to prior commitments. The 'us' is you and I."

"Me? Why am I going? Are you sure you don't just want me along to carry your bags because your knee is still hurting?"

"No, but you can help out there too. I want you along because you _can_ fill in for Leon. You're smart-you can study up on the figures for the business case before Monday."

Merlin was surprised by the unexpected compliment from Arthur. "I guess I could," Merlin admitted. "How long would we be gone?" "Leaving Monday morning on an early train and returning Wednesday afternoon."

"Alright, I'll go." It had occurred to Merlin they would certainly be spending a lot of time together on this trip. Maybe their traveling together would offer an opening to talk to Arthur about their relationship.

"You'll need to get the Cranfield financial spreadsheets from Leon before he leaves today as he won't be in the office the rest of the week."

"Will do," Merlin responded with a smile, happy Arthur believed he could be of real help on this trip and was willing to spend time close to him, even if it was just for work.

"Oh, Merlin, before you go see Leon, could you fetch me a glass of water for these?" Arthur asked as he gestured at the paracetamol on his desk.

"Is your knee still bothering you? I see you switched back to the cane again," Merlin gestured toward the cane propped against the credenza behind Arthur's desk.

"It's better but it still hurts," Arthur admitted.

Merlin considered this brief interpersonal exchange, instead of the business-only talk upon which Arthur had insisted, a minor victory.

* * *

Thursday, Merlin had an idea for how to approach Arthur about the incident with Will. He knew Arthur would refuse a lunch invitation from him, but that didn't mean Merlin couldn't happen to show up wherever Arthur was having lunch. It would require some sneaking about, but Merlin wasn't above stalking Arthur if it would mean their relationship could be restored.

So when Arthur left the office after 1 p.m. and took the elevator down to the first floor, Merlin raced to the stairs and ran down the six flights to the lobby. As he opened the stairwell door, he saw Arthur heading out the lobby doors and turning right. He quickly followed. Arthur crossed the street at the corner and it looked like he was headed for the fish 'n' chip shop in the next block. Merlin stayed on the opposite side of the street from Arthur, dodging amongst passing strangers in case Arthur looked across the road. As he pulled even with the shop, Merlin saw Arthur enter. He waited for a gap in the traffic before he darted across the street, but misjudged how fast a sleek black sports car was going and barely made it safely to the sidewalk. He could see Arthur in the queue inside the shop, so he waited outside, lurking behind the nearest telephone box.

Only once Arthur received his order and took a seat in one of the booths did Merlin enter the shop and place his own order for chips. Fortunately, Arthur had chosen to sit with his back to the counter, so he was totally surprised when Merlin sat down opposite him in the booth with chips.

Merlin opened with, "Hullo, fancy meeting you here."

"You? Wh-what are you doing here?" Arthur sputtered.

"Eating chips. Pass the malt vinegar, would you?" Merlin calmly requested.

Arthur complied and then narrowed his eyes at Merlin. "Did you follow me here?"

Merlin put on his most innocent face. "What? Can't a bloke have a hankering for good chips every now and again? These _are_ good," he commented as he munched.

Arthur took a few bites of his fish, but still regarded Merlin with suspicion. "And you had to sit in my booth?"

Merlin looked around. "This place is crowded at lunch. Better to sit with you than a stranger."

Arthur laughed out loud. "Caught you. The lunchtime rush is over now. There are plenty of empty seats."

Merlin smiled. "It's good to hear you laugh again. I've missed that these past few days."

Arthur expression sobered immediately. "Not much to laugh about recently."

Merlin touched Arthur's arm. "Can we talk about it?"

Arthur shook Merlin's hand off his arm. "I told you before, there is nothing to discuss." He shoved his lunch to the side and slid out of the booth.

"Arthur, I'm telling you this is all a big misunderstanding, we need to talk," Merlin pleaded.

"Yes, a misunderstanding because I trusted you and you lied to me." Arthur grabbed his cane and limped toward the door.

Arthur was well out of earshot when Merlin whispered "I didn't lie. Why don't you believe _me_?"


	20. Chapter 20

The quiet murmur of the office was interrupted by the click-clack of high heels smacking the marble floor of the executive suite lobby. Gwen looked up and smiled as she saw Morgana walking towards her. The head of Marketing for Camelot Consulting nodded in return. "Good afternoon, Gwen."

"How goes it on the second floor, Morgana?

"Much better than up here, I'm sure. _I_ actually enjoy my job. I don't think I could say the same for the other execs up here with Uther breathing down their necks. Is Arthur in his office? I need to knock some sense into that thick head of his."

"You'll have to ask Merlin, over there." She gestured towards Merlin's alcove in front of Arthur's closed office. "Good luck. Somebody needs to make him see sense. Merlin's been trying to talk to him, but Arthur just refuses to discuss it."

Morgana strode over to Merlin's cubicle and put out her hand. "Hullo, I'm Arthur's half-sister, Morgana. And you are Merlin, yes?"

Merlin looked up from his computer screen to see a stunning raven-haired woman with alabaster skin standing in front of him. She was impeccably dressed in an edgy designer suit, with her hair styled into an artful chignon. He stood and shook her hand warmly. "Yes, I am. It's a pleasure to meet you. Arthur's spoken of you." As he ended the sentence his smile turned wistful. That was before, of course.

Morgana's laugh rang out brightly. "I'm sure he has, but was it fondly or with irritation?" Merlin's face showed his indecision and then Morgana added, "Oh, you don't have to answer that. I'm sure it was with fond irritation, as I tend to inspire both in him. I'd like to see him. Is he available?"

"Let me check." Merlin buzzed Arthur on the intercom. "Morgana's here. Can you see her now?"

"Morgana? Send her in."

Merlin opened Arthur's office door and ushered Morgana in. "Can I get you anything to drink, Morgana?" Merlin asked courteously.

"Oh no, I'm fine, but thank you for asking," Morgana replied politely.

"A-hem." Arthur cleared his throat and glowered at Merlin. "_I_ could use a refill."

"Very well," Merlin said stiffly. He left the door open as he exited the office.

"What brings you up here, Morgana?" Arthur queried.

"Arthur, are you always so rude to your P.A.? It's a wonder Merlin hasn't quit."

Arthur grumbled quietly, "It's been a bad few days."

"And whose fault is that?"

"If you are here to lecture me, you might as well leave now, because I'm not listening," Arthur declared stubbornly.

"Arthur Pendragon, I've never seen you so close-minded about something before. You know there are always two sides to a story and you're not even giving Merlin a chance to tell his side. I thought you were a fair man."

Arthur almost cringed under the verbal onslaught from Morgana. He wavered for a moment, thinking perhaps she was right and he should hear Merlin out, but then his fear took over. Fear of being forced to confront the truth; that Merlin was just having fun and didn't care about him or a long term relationship. That Merlin could never really be interested in him. Who knew, even if there was a spark of interest there, he'd probably snuffed it out with the way he'd been treating Merlin the past few days. No doubt Merlin hated him now and only continued to work here because he needed the money.

To Morgana, Arthur's face showed his stubborn determination. "You're not changing my mind."

Morgana was nearly shouting now. "Arthur, you are impossible! You're throwing away what could be the best thing in your life! Without even trying to understand what really happened! I'm ashamed of you!" With a huff, Morgana strode out of Arthur's office, nearly colliding with Merlin as he returned with Arthur's beverage.

Arthur just glared at Merlin as he delivered the tea, so Merlin exited from the office quickly, pulling the door shut behind him.

* * *

Merlin read over his words again:

_Arthur, please read this._

_Will was just a friend from home who needed a place to stay for a few weeks, so I let him crash on my couch. He wasn't and isn't anything more to me than a friend. After Friday night, I told him to move out and he's been gone as of Monday. Please know I would never lie to you about our relationship. I was really pleased with how it was progressing and I am so sorry someone who I thought was my friend turned out to be such a drunken, jealous arse._

_I don't know why you believed Will instead of me, but I want to earn your trust back. Can we try again?_

_Hopefully,_

_Merlin_

He slipped into Arthur's office early Friday morning and set the note in the middle of Arthur's desk where he couldn't miss it when he arrived. Then he settled down at his own desk for an anxious wait.

A grumpy Arthur showed up around 9, muttering something about the idiot drivers in the car park. Evidently, his day had gotten off to a bad start. That didn't bode well for his attitude when reading Merlin's note. Merlin nervously chewed on his bottom lip as Arthur limped into his office.

Arthur yelled out, "Merlin!"

Merlin scrambled to his feet almost tripping as he entered Arthur's office. "Yes, Arthur?"

"I am in desperate need of caffeine. Bring me a coffee, would you?"

Merlin didn't answer as his eyes were riveted on the crumpled paper in Arthur's hand-his note. "Is...is that all?" he hesitantly asked, his heart sinking.

Arthur raised his gaze to stare straight into Merlin's eyes. He stated solemnly, "That's all."

* * *

The rest of the day was a blur for Merlin. Arthur continued to make demands, but Merlin barely noticed, automatically doing as he was told. All he could think was that it was truly over with Arthur. He'd tried everything he could think of to convince Arthur to understand what had really happened and none of it was Merlin's fault, but Arthur was adamant in his refusal to listen.

He'd just have to get used to being all-business with Arthur, as that is all he could have. Well, he'd be the most professional P.A. possible. He'd start with briefing Arthur on their travel arrangements for the trip to Manchester. He printed out the travel itinerary, hotel reservations and a list of contact numbers for the Cranfield executives and knocked on Arthur's closed door.

Unable to look Arthur in the eye, Merlin stared at a most-uninteresting spot about a foot over Arthur's golden blond head. He rattled off in quick succession the itinerary and provided Arthur with the copies of the Cranfield presentation; hard copy as well as on a thumb drive.

"So we need to meet at Euston station at 6:40 a.m. to catch the 6:55, which will get us to Manchester Piccadilly at 9:07. Then you have a reservation for a hire car to drive to the Cranfield factory which will take about 20 minutes."

Arthur took note that Merlin was avoiding looking at him, but only asked, "What hotel?"

"Two rooms at Great John Street Hotel for two nights."

Arthur nodded. "Very well. How are you doing with the financials from Leon? Will you be able to answer questions about them?"

"Leon prepped me as much as he could before he left and I've continued to study the figures. As long as they aren't looking for an in-depth analysis, I think I can handle questions." Merlin chanced a glance at Arthur and saw his brow was furrowed. He took it as a sign of concern, so added, "Look, if you'd rather I not go because you're worried I'll embarrass you and the company-"

Arthur interrupted, "No, that's not it." He wiped his face with his hand before continuing, "It's nothing, never mind. You'll do fine."

Merlin was mystified. Arthur was praising him, but he was definitely worried about something, despite the attempt to brush it off as nothing.

* * *

As soon as Merlin left for the day, Arthur reached down into his rubbish bin and retrieved a crumpled sheet of paper. He carefully spread it flat on his desk, smoothing out the wrinkles as much as he could. He read Merlin's note again and then folded it carefully, putting it in his suit coat pocket.


End file.
